Top 5 Causes of Injury During July 4th Weekend

According to the Pew Research Center, during July 4 and 5 more
than 90,000 people visit hospital emergency rooms for treatment
of injuries sustained during the holiday. This episode will cover
safety issues that are not just workplace related, and explore
the Top 5 injury causes that center around the 4th of July
holiday, as well as share some tips on how to not become a
statistic this summer.


Peter Koch: [00:00:04] Hey there, listeners,
this is Peter Koch, host of the MEMIC Safety Experts podcast.
This podcast is dedicated to discussing, describing and even
debating safety across all industries and applications with
industry leaders, top executives and safety experts right here at
MEMIC. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe. That's a
statement from Glenda Lynch, from a flyer that she created around
firework safety after her son died of injuries sustained when a
firework mortar went off prematurely. Fireworks are one of the
top five causes of injuries around the Fourth of July holiday.
And this story is a particularly tragic one. So in today's
episode, I'm going to take a slightly different tack and cover
safety issues that are not just workplace related and explore
injury causes that center around summer and the Independence Day
holiday, as well as share some tips on how to not become a
statistic [00:01:00] this summer. So let's jump right into it.
According to the Pew Research Center, during July four and five,
more than 90,000 people visit hospital emergency rooms for
treatment of injuries sustained during that July 4th holiday. In
his July 2019 article, Drew DeSilver writes that the average
daily number of E.R. visits across June, July and August hovers
around 40,000 or less than half the average of the Independence
Day holiday visits, even the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays
that don't compare with the average totals for July four and
five.


Peter Koch: [00:01:37] The Elite Care E.R.
center out of Texas published an article that highlighted the top
five causes of injuries around the July 4th holiday. They are,
according to them, outdoor grilling and cooking, swimming and
boating, fireworks and last but most fatal car crashes. So let's
go through those and start in reverse order. Tackling outdoor
cooking and grilling first. The National [00:02:00] Fire
Protection Agency, or NFPA, states that 64 percent of all
American households own at least one outdoor barbecue grill or
smoker. And between grease fires leaking propane, spilled
charcoal and the misuse of flammable liquids. There are lots of
ways someone could get hurt when they're grilling and chilling.
Add to that, adult beverages and other distractions. And it's no
wonder that outdoor cooking makes the top five injury causes
list. Here are some stats from the NFPA. July is the peak month
for grill fires and averages 18 percent for the entire year. July
is followed by June with just 15 percent and May with 13 and then
August with 12 in 2014 through 2018 fire departments went to an
annual average of 8,900 home fires involving grills, hibachi or
barbecues. And in that same time frame, an average of nearly
20,000 people [00:03:00] per year went to the emergency room
because of injuries involving grills. Nearly half or 9,500 or 48
percent of those injuries were for thermal burns, including both
burns from fire and from contact with hot objects. So let's look
at a couple of tips that can keep you safe this summer when
you're grilling outside.


Peter Koch: [00:03:21] First, outside, any grill
that generates heat from combustion, propane, charcoal, wood
pellets, whatever should be used outside. Yes, outside, even when
it's raining. Never, ever use your grill in the garage shed or
the kitchen. Keep it well away from the house, out from under the
eaves and away from other combustible materials like the deck
railing or furniture. Second, the grill top and sides get hot, so
keep the kiddos, pets and other unpredictable partygoers away
from the grill. I remember two different gatherings where people
at the party unintentionally mixed [00:04:00] it up with the hot
sections of the grill. Both times involve the dog and both were
Rube Goldberg-esk occurrences. So in the first instance, the
Unleashed family dog bumped into the walker of the grandmother.
The grandmother toppled over into the people that were helping
her get to a seat on the deck. One of those stumbled into the six
year old that was walking near the grill, who then fell into the
grill where hot water from the pot of boiling corn was on the
side burner, which eventually sloshed out onto his arm and his
face. Not a great day. The second instance was a leash dog that
took off after a ball, the trailing leash wrapped around the leg
of the charcoal grill, dumping its contents onto the deck. The
coals caught the grease from the food on fire, which ignited the
wood of the deck. [00:04:48] And the injury occurred then when
the person with the fire extinguisher ran through the sliding
glass door coming out of the house onto the deck, you just really
can't make it up.


Peter Koch: The next [00:05:00] safety tip
involves two steps, but first, I'll explain why these steps are
important. I visited a friend a number of summers ago for what I
had assumed to be a barbecue. When my family and I arrived, my
friend was in the process of removing the dripping, charred and
blackened husk of the gas grill from his deck. Seems he had lit
the grill to preheat, then went into the house to get whatever it
was he was going to serve and then promptly got distracted. When
he returned, the grill had black smoke roiling out of it and
flames shooting out from every opening. He pushed open the lid
with the hopes of putting the fire out with long tongs, which
then promptly intensified the fire. He finally put it out with
copious amounts of water from the hose. I expect that you know
what happened and maybe it's even happened to you. Seems that the
heat from the closed grill during that extended pre-heat time
ignited all of the leftover grease in the bottom of that grill
and opening the lid, it just fanned the flames. It's a good thing
the propane [00:06:00] didn't explode.


Peter Koch: [00:06:02] The moral of the story,
keep your grill clean by removing grease from the inside of the
grill and from the trap trays below. Then never, ever leave your
grill unattended when it's on. The last grilling safety tip is
always, always keep the lid of the grill open when the lighting
it. I don't have a personal story to share, but there are plenty
of people out there who have experienced the woosh and subsequent
loss of facial hair or worse, when the un-ignited gas trapped
under the closed lid finally reaches a mixture that will support
combustion. Keep these in mind when cranking up the grill this
summer, and there's a good chance you won't contribute to the
summer injury statistics. Speaking of stats, though,
statistically boating and swimming, the next two on the list are
very safe. But both activities can cause injury if you don't take
precautions before and during enjoying the water. The most common
causes [00:07:00] of accidents when boating or swimming are
participating at a level above your ability. Intoxication,
distraction and in particular with boating, speed. Though boat
speed can have a negative effect on swimmers when they share the
same waterway. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
provide boaters some great safety reminders. So you want to check
them out on their website or I'll go through some of them here.
So first and foremost is to leave the alcoholic beverages on the
shore and be a sober boater.


Peter Koch: [00:07:31] Operating a boat is the
same as operating a motor vehicle. Don't drink and drive applies
on the water as well. This leads to a similar rule for boaters,
distractions of any kind can lead to collisions or other boating
accidents, phones and passengers can be an even bigger
distraction on the water than they are in the car. Operators and
pilots must keep their attention to the waterway, put the phone
down and have a spotter when towing skiers, [00:08:00] tubers or
other devices. The next tip is apropos as we open up around covid
and they say to practice social distancing when boating, they
mean it from a stop the spread perspective. But I think this
message has larger implications. Think about it. Nothing good can
happen if your boat tries to occupy the same physical location as
another object or person. Consider the following. Give other
boaters space, keep up good right away practices and don't try to
squeeze in. It's hard to crash into someone or something if you
keep your distance. The next tip is for when things go wrong on
the water, and that is to wear a life jacket. A wearable life
jacket can save your life, but remember only when you wear it.
The U.S. Coast Guard makes the following recommendations around
life jackets and they're pretty important. So all recreational
vessels must have a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket for
each person on board.


Peter Koch: [00:08:56] That means not just one
for the kiddos, but one for everyone on [00:09:00] board. No
sharing. The second is federal law requires that when a vessel is
underway, children under 13 years of age must wear their life
jacket. There are exceptions for when they are below deck or
within an enclosed cabin, but for the most part, when they're on
the boat, they need to be in a life jacket. Though it's not
always required by law, a life jacket should be worn at all times
when the vessel is under way because, you know, if you go
overboard or something happens in an emergency, you're probably
not going to be next to the life jacket. So it's always best to
have it on. And that brings us to the fourth tip. Wearable
lifejackets must be readily accessible, and you must be able to
put your life jacket on in a reasonable amount of time in an
emergency. They should not be stowed in plastic bags or in locked
or closed compartments or have other gear stowed on top of them.
They really need to be accessible. Own your wake is the last tip
on the list [00:10:00] of boating safety tips here, and it
crosses over to the safety of others and swimmers, too. So when
operating a vessel that generates a wake, be aware of the
proximity of other boaters, swimmers and paddlers and some of the
effect that your wake may have on them.


Peter Koch: [00:10:15] Swimmers and paddlers
have some responsibility here as well, though we all need to
share the resource. So just because you can swim or paddle in a
particular area or at a particular time, it doesn't mean that you
should keep in mind that from the cockpit of a motorized vessel
or sailboat, a swimmer or a paddler is a really small target and
is easily missed. As for swimmers, while the old adage wait for
an hour before swimming, after eating may not always be
necessary, some precautions to prevent drowning are the Red
Cross, through which I took my own swim lessons when I was a kid
and then went on to become a certified lifeguard instructor in my
teen years. They have some excellent advice to [00:11:00] prevent
drowning. They call it the Circle of Drowning Prevention, which
describe the different layers essential to prevent drowning and
helps us plan ahead for any aquatic activities. So first in that
circle is to learn swimming and water safety skills before you
get in or around the water. This is all about being water
competent and your competency depends on the environment that
you're going to be in. You'll need different skills if you're
floating in a shallow backyard pool versus recreating or swimming
in the ocean or cold mountain lake. According to Water Safety
USA, which is a coalition of Red Cross and other aquatic safety
groups, necessary basic skills should cover the following.


Peter Koch: [00:11:42] You should be able to
step or jump in water over your head, then turn around or over
and orient towards safety. Then you should be able to float or
tread water and then at the very least swim 25 yards to safety
using controlled breathing and then exit [00:12:00] the water.
They also say that you should be able to perform these skills,
whether you're in a swimsuit or you're fully clothed. That's
harder than it sounds. So maybe you should practice. The second
is to be water smart. This covers a whole slew of points, many of
which are common sense, but all can be found missing in any
drowning or near drowning news story. I'm not going to list them
all, but honestly, as a former lifeguard, a few do bear
repeating. So first, like with anything else, know your
limitations. Most drowning scenarios occur when someone gets in
and pardon the pun, over their head, they panic and then become
too exhausted to continue keeping themselves above water. The
second is to know your environment, understand the topography,
temperature and the currents in the area that you're swimming.
Even a backyard pool can have a shallow and a deep end that can
be the nemesis for the non-swimmer. And then last in this list is
never [00:13:00] swim alone. If you think you can rescue
yourself, really think again while it's possible your
preparedness and the environment will dictate your success.


Peter Koch: [00:13:10] So when I was in my teens
the same summer I was taking a lifeguard class, my parents took
my brother and I to a water park. There was a really cool water
slide that we were trying to get our dad to go on with us. We
finally convinced them and it was it was superb. The slide
followed a number of drops and loops and then finally emptied
into this deep pool where you had to swim toward the shallow end
and then finally walk out. So I go down the slide. I remember
landing in the pool and then taking a few strokes ahead, turning
around and watch for my brother and my dad. So they shot out of
the slide one right after the other. Splash, splash. My brother
popped up and swam to the side and then started heading towards
the shallow end. My dad, however, stayed under a little longer
than I think he should have and then finally struggled to the
surface. So I went out to him and then after helping him to the
shallow end, [00:14:00] I found out that he didn't know how deep
the pool was and thought that he could just float his way to the
shallow end and then stand up. When they hit the water, he got
all disoriented. Then he panicked. And I learned then that he had
never figured out how to swim. And all those years, the last part
of water competency is to be ready to help others.


Peter Koch: [00:14:20] This is essential whether
recreating in the backyard pool or fishing off the dock or pier,
you don't ever want to have that sick feeling in the pit of your
stomach of not knowing what to do when your co-worker friend or
your father is struggling in the water. So be prepared, go take a
class, try to figure it out, have stuff with you and be prepared
so that you know what to do if someone falls in and they need
your help. If you want more great information about boating and
swimming safety, check out the resources at USCGBoaters.org and
the water safety resources at RedCross.org.  So no list of
Fourth of July injury causes [00:15:00] would be complete without
fireworks. You may think that many of the injuries caused by
fireworks are the result of mishandling or horseplay. Not all of
them are. Some happened to recreational users who might not
understand all of the implications of what they're using. And
some even happened to professionals. Many years ago now, I
remember well when I was planning for this podcast, I was
remembering some of the experiences that I had with fireworks.
And many years ago now, I recall attending a fireworks display.
One summer, bunch of friends and I were on the beach and the
fireworks were being launched from a raft out in the middle of
the lake.


Peter Koch: [00:15:38] During what I thought was
going to be a normal pause in the display, I looked down from the
sky to the water just in time to see the mortars being launched
out toward the other side of the lake, streaking across the
water. In the glow of that fire, you could see the technicians
jumping into the water. Well, it turns out that one of the racks
that [00:16:00] held the firework launch tubes had become
unsecured and had tipped over in the process of trying to reload
and launch. No one was hurt, thank goodness. But it wasn't until
years later that I thought about the implications of what would
happen if that wreck had flopped over the other way and launched
toward the beach. We all missed serious injury that day and they
were set off by professionals. Tragedy and fireworks can really
go hand in hand, and especially in the hands of untrained and
unexperienced people. The quote at the beginning of the podcast
from Glenda Linge Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe
rings true when it comes to fireworks. Her son Shane was with his
dad at a backyard fireworks show when a mortar, which he had
loaded into the launch tube, exploded in his face. The news
reports explain that the impact shattered his forehead, cracked
his skull in half, and the heat from the firework burned his
brain. [00:17:00] Shane never regained consciousness, and they
had to make the decision to take him off life support.


Peter Koch: [00:17:08] Glenda became an advocate
for firework safety and regulation after that fatal accident.
They learn from the investigation that the premature ignition of
the fireworks could have been caused from either static
electricity or possibly even embers left in the tube from the
previously launched mortar in the hands of inexperienced people
or unqualified people, fireworks can be dangerous and they can be
dangerous at many different levels. Injuries occur from small
burns to life threatening injuries to fatal injuries. The
Consumer Product Safety Commission reminds us that even if
fireworks are illegal in the state that you're in, all fireworks
come with risk. Their data shows that 62 percent of the 90 100
fireworks related injuries in 2018 occurred in the months
[00:18:00] surrounding the Fourth of July. So that would be June
22nd through July 22nd, 62 percent, even children under five are
part of that statistic and half of their firework related
injuries are from sparklers. Fun fact. Did you know that
sparklers, even the ones that you can buy at the convenience or
big box store, burn around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's hot
enough to melt some metals, so keep them away from the kiddos.
The CPSC gives some great tips around fireworks safety. So check
them out, make sure consumer fireworks are legal in your area
before buying or using them. And as a consumer, never use or make
professional grade fireworks.


Peter Koch: [00:18:43] Now, as an aside here,
fireworks packaged in brown paper are often made for professional
displays and are not for consumer use. So that's a pretty big
hint if you're looking for fireworks to use in your backyard.
Next, never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks
[00:19:00] device when lighting the fuse always move to a safe
distance immediately after lighting the firework. Never point or
throw fireworks at another person or towards an occupied area,
always light fireworks, one at a time, and then move away from
them quickly. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in
case of fire or other problem. Always soak misfired fireworks
with water thoroughly before throwing them away and never try to
relight them. After fireworks complete their burning douse the
spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before
discarding the device to prevent a trash fire. The bottom line is
all fireworks carry risk. Know, and prepare to control the risk
before using them. Or just go to watch the professionals shoot
them off. They can be a beautiful display and a fun time with
your friends and family.


Peter Koch: Let's take a quick break and reflect
this Fourth [00:20:00] of July and both the success and struggle
that we have had as a nation since independence and political
separation from Great Britain was declared in 1776 and how we've
been shaped by them. This is a shout out to all of the workers
that make it possible for Americans to enjoy the Fourth of July
holiday. [00:20:19] They are the reason your favorite restaurant,
bar, hotel, resort, state or national park campground or a
convenience store are open on those days. The rest of us have
off. I'm not going to list all of the occupations and industries
here as there are far too many. And I know that I'll miss one.
But let's not forget the police, fire, EMS warden and ranger
teams that respond when our recreation day goes wrong. If you
want to do something for the countless workers that have and
continue to work to keep the doors open and the lights on in
those establishments that we like to frequent as a customer.
Start by saying thanks and as an employer, start by keeping them
safe. They all [00:21:00] need to go home to their family and
friends at the end of the day. If you need a place to find safety
resources, then you can check out the MEMIC safety director at
www.MEMIC.com/WorkplaceSafety. Now, let's get back to today's
episode.


Peter Koch: Last on the list are car accidents
around the Fourth of July, and I would like to welcome Randy
Klatt, director of region two loss control here at MEMIC as our
expert on transportation exposures to help me dissect some
disturbing statistics around driving fatalities. So thanks for
being here, Randy. I wanted you to help me understand some of the
fatality statistics that the National Safety Council has put out.
[00:21:44] They have a website or a Web page called Holiday
Traffic Fatality Estimate. And here you can go through any of the
big holidays. So New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day,
Thanksgiving, Christmas. And they have Independence Day or the
Fourth of July. And that's what we're talking about here. And
[00:22:00] they're talking about four hundred and eighty-two
people may die over the Independence Day holiday, which goes this
year from Friday through Monday. They're looking at like three
point two five days, which is where they get the average over.
But that seems to be a fairly substantial amount of fatalities
that are happening just over the road. Now in the podcast, before
I've been talking about other areas where injuries can happen and
fatalities happen, but certainly none of the other activities
grilling, using fireworks, swimming and boating are coming up
with the same number of fatalities that the National Safety
Council is estimating may happen over this Fourth of July
weekend. So let's talk about those stats for a little bit and why
they're important. And then let's get into some things that you
can do to not become a statistic, because that's the whole point
of this. We want people to stay alive during their holiday
period. So let's talk a little bit about the stats.


Randy Klatt: [00:23:00] We [00:23:00] certainly
do want them to stay alive Peter, and we also want them to remain
uninjured. So we could talk about the nearly 500 people that are
estimated to be killed on that holiday weekend. But you could add
to that, oh, probably one hundred thousand injuries from
accidents as well. Now, that's just mind boggling when you think
about it. And of course, the real problem is most people don't
think about it. They're using their car every day. It's something
that especially in America, we rely on. And most every car has
one person in it and there are millions of them on the road. And
that's just what we do. And we don't really consider that it's
probably the most hazardous thing that you're going to do in any
given day. And of course, with the topic of this discussion, you
had holiday weekend, summertime weather you had a little alcohol
and maybe some long hours. And it's not surprising that those
[00:24:00] estimates will rise. Also noted that the statistics
were increased. Their estimate was increased slightly this year
due to the covid pandemic shut down, relaxing this year. So
unlike last year when most people were stuck at home, this is the
first Independence Day weekend where we'll be out and about in
more normal conditions. So they're not really sure what's going
to happen.


Peter Koch: [00:24:26] Right. A lot of pent up
expectations or desires that kind of get out and be in the world
again, which is going to put a lot more traffic on the road and a
lot more challenges. I think.


Randy Klatt: [00:24:37] I think you're right.
And again, we take driving for granted. And I say everybody does
it every day. Of course, that's not quite true. Some people
don't. And there is a large percentage of the population that
hasn't driven very much in the last year due to everything that's
happened. And now they're going to be out there. Maybe they are
taking the road trip to [00:25:00] someone's house or an extended
weekend holiday somewhere. And they haven't been on the roads
very much. And. Well, do you think we can get rusty at driving?
Yeah, I think we can. It's operating a mechanical device, you
know, a moving vehicle. So there may be an element of that, too.
It's just, jeez, we haven't been out in traffic very much and we
don't remember the way like we would if we'd driven it every day
of the week. And, you know, there's going to be some of that sort
of thing going on.


Peter Koch: [00:25:32] That's a really good
point. I experienced that myself as we got back out into the
field as loss control consultants. And some of my policyholders
are quite far away. And I hadn't seen him in a while or been to
their place of business in a while. And I'm making the trip for
the first time and like, wow, this has been spent 18 months since
I've been on this road. And now you forget kind of where you're
going and where all your turns are and where you're going to be.
And you end up maybe not [00:26:00] focusing so much on the road,
but the map or the path that you're supposed to take. So you
might miss some of the cues. You might miss a turn, panic a
little bit more and possibly even make a wrong turn or try to get
out of that wrong turn, get back into traffic when someone else
is trying to pull up behind you. So you might not be rusty. The
mechanics of driving like you still know where the gas pedal is
and the brake pedal and the steering column and everything, but
you might not know the path and that, as we've discovered before,
when you add one more thing to think about in that complex
process of driving puts us at substantial risk for making
mistakes and actually being distracted not from a phone or from a
conversation or for something else, but just by not knowing where
the heck you're going.


Randy Klatt: [00:26:46] Yeah, I had a similar
experience just yesterday, I went to a policyholder I hadn’t been
to and a year and a half and at a particular intersection when I
went by, I realized, holy cow, there's a building that wasn't
there last year, you know, [00:27:00] huge brand new. And you
find yourself kind of watching or gazing. Wow, that's
interesting. Well, guess what? The vehicle's still moving at 35
miles an hour, and that's when things happen. You know, in my
driver training and we've always talked about reaction time and,
you know, how long it takes for a driver to react to what happens
to perceive an issue and then actually do something about it. And
how many feet per second you're traveling. And anyway, that's
still applies. Physics doesn't go away. And so the distracted
brain, that's a thing. It's a real thing. And it may be worse
this year when you realize that, wow, there are a lot of
buildings out there that weren't there last year or other things,
highway construction and things like that, that we really have to
be careful.


Peter Koch: [00:27:49] Certainly and some of
that is going to, you know, take away from your schedule. Right.
So not, you know, not realizing that, you know, we're out for the
first time again, traveling someplace at [00:28:00] a distance
and not knowing where all those construction stops are so used to
take me two hours to get from point A to point B, and now it's
going to take me two and a half hours to get from point A to
point B, and people feel the pressure of not being someplace on
time or meeting that deadline. So even that could be a challenge.
And again, distracting.


Randy Klatt: [00:28:19] Right. And just imagine
if over this three-day weekend, if we were to crash three major
airline airplanes in this country. Imagine the outrage, the
publicity, the media coverage, the government intervention that
would happen. I mean, it would just be just a tremendous reaction
to something horrible like that. Well, equivalent lives lost.
That's exactly what's going to happen over this weekend and sadly
enough, the National Safety Council's predictions over the years
are freakily,[00:29:00] really accurate. So talking about five
hundred people that are here now that might not be here after the
weekend, and that's sad. So, yeah, let's do everything we can to
prevent that to you, to your family, to your friends, to
coworkers, to your staff if you have a chance to talk to them
before the weekend. It's just it's a reminder. I know everybody
knows how to drive and they'll get the eye rolls and whatever,
but it's a real thing that too many people take for granted.


Peter Koch: [00:29:31] So let's talk about some
of those things that might cause that accident, that result in a
fatality. So what are some of the more common things? We talked a
lot about distraction. So that's on the table. We've chatted
about that. But what are some of the things that would contribute
to the accident that would cause a fatality?


Randy Klatt: [00:29:49] Well, again, those
statistics are pretty consistent over the years as well. Number
one is excessive speed. And we just talked about not knowing the
area or being late or, you know, things [00:30:00] like that that
might delay your trip. And the tendency would be to increase your
speed to make up some time. And that's when you're really pushing
the envelope a little bit. So always be cognizant of your speed.
And along with that, a different issue. But related is following
distance because we're always just too darn close to the car in
front of us. Doesn't matter if you're on an interstate highway or
you're on a two lane country road somewhere, you have to allow
space in front of you so that you as a human being can make those
decisions, react and do something when something unusual happens
in front of you, be that the car in front of you slams on their
brakes or an animal runs out in front of you or a child or
whatever the case may be, not giving it enough time and space
puts you at the mercy of physics and then you're stuck. So you've
sealed the deal unknowingly until you find yourself when it's too
late, [00:31:00] you're too close. So if you can allow more space
in front of you, drive the appropriate speed for the conditions
and the laws. And of course, we always say use your safety belt,
that's almost a no brainer in the in the country now we're up to
about 90 percent seatbelt use across the country, give or take a
few percentage points and different states. Every state but one
has a law for front seat passengers and drivers to wear their
seatbelt, so do so. I can say as a paramedic back many years ago,
I never took a body out of a seatbelt.


Randy Klatt: [00:31:39] I took a lot of bodies
out of cars. Now we know that people do die while wearing their
seatbelts. The statistics are pretty clear that they aren't
magic, but they do certainly help and they limit injuries to
those that are just injured in accidents as well. And I always
ask the question on driver training [00:32:00] about the
seatbelt, and I say, will it help prevent injuries? Will it help
prevent an accident? And of course, ninety nine percent of people
say no. And that won't prevent an accident that will help you if
you are in one. It helped prevent the injury or decrease the odds
of a serious injury. And I ask what would happen if you're
driving your car and suddenly you have to swerve, you have to
swerve left because a car pulls out or that animal or whatever.
If It's a small animal hit the animal only if it's small, but if
it's a person, you might want to swerve. And if you do that,
what's going to happen to you in the driver's seat if you're not
wearing your belt? Well, you're probably not going to be able to
control that car beyond that first swerve, you can be thrown down
in the console or you lose the grip on the wheel, that kind of
thing, because you're not buckled in. And we all make that first
maneuver sometimes too late. But we all see the skid [00:33:00]
marks of the tire tracks that go off the road. Well, they made
the first move. They just worried it could make the second one to
keep them keep the car under control after they missed the object
or whatever it is. So, yeah, the belt is important in that
regard, too.


Peter Koch: [00:33:16] You think about
professional drivers, professional racers that are dealing with a
lot of G’s in their movement from side to side, whether it be
rally car drivers or Indy car drivers? And they're driving in a
harness for two reasons. One, that's going to keep them within
that crash cage if the car goes off the road, but it keeps them
in the bucket so that they can then steer and not use the
steering wheel to hang on kind of lose a little directional
control when you're just hanging onto the steering wheel instead
of actually using it to steer the car.


Randy Klatt: [00:33:46] Right. Right. And
similarly to when you do a little bit of that gazing of the
what's going by you on the roadway or that new building that's
up, you have a hold of the wheel and you turn your head to the
left to look at it. What's the tendency to happen? A [00:34:00]
car goes to the left. Yeah, it's going to move the way you're
looking because that's what you've done with the wheel. So there
is a lot to driving that we just don't think that much about. And
two cars in the same place at the same time just shouldn't
happen. It's going to be a human failure that makes that occur,
which means it is avoidable. So that's what I want everyone to
do, not only over this weekend, but every day take this driving
task seriously and arrive alive. That's the goal.


Peter Koch: [00:34:33] That's good. I think
there's one more. One more, cause that's kind of the elephant in
the room that we need to we need to talk about. So, you know, we
talked about speed driving or driving distance between you and
the car in front of you, and then seatbelts as a good injury
prevention strategy are all good injury prevention strategies.
But I think impaired driving is something that we need to talk
about and not from a distracted impairment, but other [00:35:00]
impairments. How much in your experience and whether it's
statistics or your experience prior to coming to MEMIC, how much
does alcohol or other substances that will alter your mental
state, how much do they contribute to driving accidents and
fatalities?


Randy Klatt: [00:35:20] Well, sadly, significant
contribution from personal experience. I was a paramedic for
about six years, so I worked a lot of traffic accidents, a lot of
fatalities. Now, this was back in the day when seatbelt use was
about twenty five percent. So fatality numbers were higher and
survivability was far less in vehicles. But I can tell you that I
can count on one hand, in fact a portion of one hand, the number
of accidents, fatal accidents that I remember working that did
not involve alcohol.


Peter Koch: Wow.


Randy Klatt: It was [00:36:00] just as prevalent
as can be. I worked every Friday night. I had shifts that were to
two days a week. Twenty-four hour shifts each. But Friday night
was one of them. And I wouldn't say you could set your clock by
it, but we knew it was coming, especially as the weather got
warmer. It was motorcycles and cars and it was people out having
fun on long, sunny, beautiful, warm days. I saw very little
actually as a result of weather. In fact, the one fatal accident
I do remember that wasn't alcohol related did have a weather
contribution to it in the way of icy roads, but. It's just people
out having fun, too much fun. I remember riding in the back of
the ambulance with one of the fatalities because we actually at
that time occasionally transported a body to the morgue.


Randy Klatt: [00:36:52] And I had to be in the
back, you had to have someone in the back if there was someone
else in there. I remember just looking at the poor young man
under the sheet [00:37:00] and thinking to myself, boy, I hope
you had a good time tonight because you're done. And that's just
so sad and so unnecessary. The statistics say that back then when
I was a medic, about 50 percent of all accidents were involving
alcohol. We've gotten better at that. It's gone down to about
twenty eight percent. So that's a positive move. If you remember
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the MADD organization, they're
still around and you don't hear about them quite so much, but
they made a huge difference. There is much more awareness of it.
And I think designated drivers and especially the advent of on
demand transportation like Uber and Lyft and all that, people are
taking advantage of that and they're being smarter about it. Yet
still, nearly a third of fatal accidents will have an alcohol
component involved. So it's still a significant problem that we
need to address. And it's going to be worse over the holiday
[00:38:00] weekend because, again, look at the statistics from
the NSC and Independence Day holiday statistic has more
involvement of alcohol than any other weekends.


Peter Koch: [00:38:13] Yeah. If you go through
that statistic, it does show that for Independence Day, the
difference between the annual average and the Independence Day
average or the Independence Day estimates are almost 10 percent.
So you're going to have 10 percent more. So if we're at 28
percent for this Independence Day on annual average for an
alcohol related auto fatality, Independence Day, you're going to
have close to 40 percent are going to be involved with some sort
of or have some sort of alcohol involvement.


Randy Klatt: [00:38:41] Yeah, and that's sad
because that goes back to that. That's the same as it was in the
80s when I was a medic. The light bulb hasn't quite come on
bright enough yet


Peter Koch: [00:38:52] Or it's on and we just
sort of dim it down when the holidays come around, I guess.


Randy Klatt: [00:38:56] Well, yeah, it doesn't
apply to me because I can handle this, right? Yeah, [00:39:00]
well, not so much. We're all human beings. We're all subject to
making mistakes. And if you add something like alcohol or drugs,
it just makes that worse. And I would also say, don't forget your
prescription medications, allergy pills and, you know, muscle
relaxants for that back pain and all those other things that are
pretty typical that people often have to take. They usually say
don't operate heavy equipment, which I would include a vehicle,
so just be really careful. Go have fun. Have a great holiday
weekend. And you can consume some adult beverages and have a good
time yet. Do it safely. And if you plan ahead, plan your trip
appropriately. Understand the risk you're facing with driving any
time. But how if you are tired on a long weekend after having a
good time and the weather's been hot and maybe you had a few
drinks, it's [00:40:00] probably not a good combination to then
get on the road.


Peter Koch: [00:40:03] Yeah, all good points.
All really great points. You know, check your speed, make sure
you have great following distance between you in the car in front
of you, wear your seatbelts and then at the end of the day, make
sure you understand what your limits are. And don't get in that
car if you've had too much to drink, if you've taken something
that could change your mental status. So it's going to modify how
successful you would be in that car. So thanks, Randy. I
appreciate you coming on and going through some of those stats
with us and giving us some good feedback and some suggestions for
a safe and healthy holiday weekend. Appreciate you being on the
podcast again.


Randy Klatt: [00:40:39] Any time, Peter. Thank
you for having me. Be careful out there.


Peter Koch: [00:40:42] So that about wraps up
this week’s Safety Experts Podcast. Thanks to all of you who
listened today. And if you're looking for additional resources
around holiday safety, check out the MEMIC safety director at
MEMIC.com. If you have any questions for me or I'd like to hear
more about our particular topic on our podcast, e-mail [00:41:00]
me at podcast@ MEMIC.com. Also, check out our show notes at
MEMIC.com/podcast, where you can find links to resources for a
deeper dive into this topic. While you're there, you can check
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