I Wear My Seatbelt Do You

After my accident in my Big Rig it was decided that if it wasn't for the belt I most likely would have been ejected and thrown out in front of a 80,000 pound rig and run over. I do wear my belt and am thankful for it now.
Many of my peers even in their professional capacity do not wear them and refuse to see the light.
While I don't know if this will change any minds you can't blame me for trying.

Do Seat Belts Prevent Injuries?

Although over half of the people killed in car crashes do not wear seat belts, many people still refuse to wear belts. Some people simply don't believe that a seat belt can make a difference. Sure, in some cases a crash can be so severe that fatalities or serious injuries occur regardless of a seat belt. Nonetheless, the evidence that seat belts prevent injuries and death is overwhelming enough that no passenger should ever ride in a car without a seat belt.

Exact seat belt statistics vary based on the type of vehicle, the type of seat belt, the position of impact, and whether the driver is a front or backseat passenger. A National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) survey, conducted between 1986 and 1999, showed that seat belts prevent death and injury most in rollovers and rear impact crashes. However, even in nearside and side impact collisions, seat belts alone were found to reduce the incidence of fatalities.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5136489_do-seat-belts-prevent-injuries.html

Many accident injuries are caused by the passenger's seat belt. Improper fastening of the seat belt or seat belt malfunction are common factors behind these injuries. The type of seat belt injury a passenger receives depends on the seat belt design and how the seat belt was worn. Despite these facts, wearing a seat belt is still much safer than failing to buckle up. The key is to sit upright, wear the entire seat belt and fasten the seat belt securely.

Seat belt injuries are very common during a car accident. While the car comes to a sudden stop when a collision occurs, the passengers remain in motion. The passengers must also come to a stop, either by seat belt restraint or by colliding with something else. Seat belt injuries generally occur when the force of the accident is relatively severe or the seat belt is used improperly.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5445258_seat-belt-injuries.html

Do seat belts really save lives?

According to the NHTSA, seat belt use has saved more than 135,000 lives since 1975 (an estimated 11,197 in 1999). Research has shown that seat belt use is responsible for a decrease in the chance of fatal injury while in passenger cars and light trucks by 45-65%. Infants properly restrained in child safety seats have a decreased fatality rate of 71%, and toddlers have a decreased fatality rate of 54%. Unfortunately, 30% of children are still not restrained properly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and The National Safety Belt Coalition both publish safety information for proper use of child seats and safety tips for protection of children that no longer use child seats. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also publishes child safety seat RECALL information as well as child safety belt laws.

http://www.jimadler.com/products/defective-seatbelt-lawyers-can-press-your-case.html

The simple answer is, yes, they do. Personally, I wear them, that's my choice, although I don't believe the government should tell us whether we have to or not. My wife wears them and so do my kids. I've been involved in a few accidents and have had the seat belt on every time. One example is while I was driving a 1996 Nissan Maxima, a Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a stop sign and I broadsided it. Granted the Maxima had air bags that did deploy, but just because the vehicle had airbags didn't cause me to not wear a belt. The belt restrained me in the seat and the air bag aided as well, that's why air bags are referred to as a 'supplemental restraint system'. Every accident is different though. Speed, weather conditions, traffic conditions, all factor into an accident. In the case of a rollover, seat belts keep you in one place so that you won't be thrown around like a rag doll as the car is tumbling. I've heard people say that they want to be 'thrown clear' in a case like that. Unfortunately, there's not many openings in a car when the doors are closed. I've hauled away many vehicles from accident scenes and it always makes me feel a little better seeing the operator and their passengers be able to walk away from a wreck. A friend of mine is a police chief and he, like me, has been to many scenes, most come out ok, but there's the grim ones as well. Like I said, I personally wear them and I always have. My logic is that if they come with the car, you paid for them. The radio came with it too and most people use that. Just my opinion on the seat belt subject.

Oh yes. lots of people's lives are spared because of wearing seatbelts. I've met people who have lived through a total collision. They said if I didn't wear my seatbelt, they wouldn't be alive today.

http://de.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061204095316AAkpIyD

Are Seat Belts Important?

Many people always say to themselves or to others that I am a good driver and it will not happen to me. Your good driving record will certainly help you avoid accidents. But even if you're a good driver, a bad driver may still hit you. Even if you had the split-second timing to do this, the force of the impact would shatter the arm or leg you used to brace yourself.

"I'm afraid the belt will trap me in the car." Statistically, the best place to be during an accident is in your car. If you're thrown out of the car, you're 25 times more likely to die. And if you need to get out of the car in a hurry - as in the extremely tiny percent of accidents involving fire or submergence - you can get out a lot faster if you haven't been knocked unconscious inside your car.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/20471/are_seat_belts_important.html?page=2

Research has found that lap and shoulder seat belts, when used correctly, reduce the risk for fatal injury to front seat occupants by 45 percent. Seat belts prevent ejection from a vehicle. Seventy-five percent of the motor vehicle occupants killed in 2005 were totally ejected from the vehicle.

Older children often place a seat belt under their arm or behind their back because the seat belt does not fit correctly and cuts into their neck. This gives the child no upper body support and puts extreme pressure on the abdomen and low back, leading to life threatening injuries. This is an automatic sign that the child still needs to be in a booster seat. Booster seats are designed to lift kids up to fit the adult seat belt.

http://denverhealth.org/portal/LinkClick.aspx?link=931&tabid=2772&mid=7286

I know many of you don't like to hear it, take from an old trucker; Wear Your Seat Belt!

Winter Trucking In The Mountains of Colorado

Shirts for the Big and Tall man at Westport

Since I am an active trucker in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Region I think I'll try to cover a topic that is as important to me as as air is to breathing.




Being prepared for winter driving in the mountainous ares of Colorado can be the difference between life and death. You must keep in mind the various hazards that you will face in these areas that you will never even think about while driving in less mountainous terrain.



Temperatures can change dramatically in just a few miles worth of driving. Be sure to carry an extra fuel filter and a couple bottles of power service in case your fuel starts to gel up.



You will have to deal with many different steep grades that are drastically different from one side of a mountain pass to the other. In many cases the rule that says you should use the same gear or one higher than the one you used to climb one side for going down the other side may not be a good idea, as most passes in Colorado are steeper on one side than the other. The real problem here is that if you are not familiar with the road you could get into trouble following this rule of thumb.



Always carry enough chains to cover at least four drive tires and at least one trailer tire. The one for the trailer tire is for drag on steep passes (8% grade) such as rabbit ears. This will help to keep your trailer straight and keep it from wandering sideways causing a jacknife situation.



Be sure you carry a survival pack that includes extra food, water,clothing, blankets, and some form of generic heat source such as canned heat and safety matches if you are not hauling flammables or explosives. This could not only help you, but it could help save others when stranded in extreme situations such as blizzards or an avalanche.



Cold weather safety is really just good common sense. Carry flashlights with extra batteries, a first aid kit with a pocket knife, any vital medications, and a brightly colored piece of cloth to use as a flag. Carry sand or kitty litter for generating traction under wheels and keep a small shovel, tools and booster cables. When travelling to cold climates and throughout the winter months you should take care to research the climate to which you are travelling, pack correctly for cold weather, learn basic snow safety and pack an emergency kit to keep with you at all times.



Snow and ice make many surfaces slippery, so always wear footwear with traction. Wind is especially dangerous, because it removes the layer of heated air from around the body. When winter temperatures drop significantly, staying warm and safe can become a challenge. Exposure to cold temperatures, whether indoors or outside, can cause serious or life threatening health problems.

Trucking and the Risk of Repetitive Motion Injury

Image via Wikipedia

In the trucking industry I don't feel that enough attention or consideration is given to the fact that Truck Driving is almost all repetitive motion. When the FMCSA decides to write up and implement their new rules I doubt seriously that this is taken into account or there would be more attention taken into consideration for drivers ability to reduce the stress from this type of motion.
If you drive for a living and are lucky enough to be operating equipment with multiple seat adjustments, a multiple steering wheel adjustment, and arm rests always consider using them with keeping the best spinal alignment for good posture in mind.
Repetitive Motion Injuries are among the most common injuries in the United States. Repetitive motion injuries are wear-and-tear injuries that occur because of repetitive activities that we perform at work and at home. Repetitive motion injuries are caused when the soft tissue structures that are being used during the motion do not have time to repair and eventually become degenerated, torn, or stretched. Repetitive motion injuries are most common in fingers, wrists, elbows, arms and shoulders. Repetitive motion injuries are one of the fastest growing causes of lost time to business and industry, not to mention their impact on worker health and morale. Repetitive motion injuries are caused, not from a one-time event, but from years of repeating the same movement. Repetitive motion injuries are a multi-factorial problem and so are difficult to control there is no universal control measure that eliminates causes of repetitive motion injuries . Repetitive motion injuries are often tough to diagnose and treat.
Safety
Safety problems in work settings range from immediate threats like toxic substances and grievous bodily injuries to subtle, progressive dangers such as repetitive motion injuries, high noise levels, and air quality. Safety newsletters, workshops, posters, incentive programs and articles are key components in communicating effectively.
Trigger
Trigger point therapy isn’t "too good to be true" — it’s just ordinary good. Trigger point therapy is not a miracle cure for chronic pain — but it’s close. Trigger points are not a flaky diagnosis. Trigger points routinely complicate most injuries and often begin to overshadow the original problem. Trigger points have many strange "features" and behaviours, and can easily be confused with many other problems. Trigger points might explain many odd aches and pains.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics deals directly with the problem of work related musculoskeletal disorders, and this type of injury is one of the most prevalent lost time injuries in the country.Ergonomics is the science of matching tools and tasks to the work environment. Ergonomics is used to fit the person into his or her environment in order to prevent repetitive motion injuries . Ergonomics is the applied science of equipment design that’s intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort. Ergonomics, also referred to as Human Factors Engineering, is the study of the interaction between people and their work. Ergonomics is the practice of designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely. Ergonomics in the workplace aims to fit the job to the worker in an effort to limit strain on the body and thus reduce the risk for work related injury, especially musculoskeletal disorders. Ergonomic injuries, including back and repetitive motion illnesses, account for more than half of all workers compensation claims.
Osha
OSHA, which developed an ergonomics standard that Congress revoked in 2001, has since that time released voluntary ergonomic guidelines for nursing homes and other sectors with high numbers of reported MSDs. OSHA says its rules would be limited to manufacturing and manual operations where workers use their limbs in repetitive motions. OSHA claims that federal ergonomic standards will save businesses money. OSHA's effectiveness in reducing industrial injury and illness has been debated since its earliest years.
Muscle
Muscle tissue is incredibly powerful and complex, and like any finely-tuned machine, it breaks down easily. Muscle tissue, and its problems, simply has not gotten the clinical attention it deserves. Muscle tissue is the largest organ in the body, metabolically active and filled with nerves, the primary target of the wear and tear of daily activities, but it is the bones, joints, bursae and nerves on which physicians usually concentrate their attention. Strained cervical postures (eg, sitting in the drivers seat using you arms and legs in the same repetetive motion ) are common.
Symptoms
Symptoms of repetitive motion injuries develop over time and are subjective with the result that it is difficult to identify the cause and also the solution for the problem. Symptoms that are persistent and don't go away overnight may indicate a more serious problem. Symptoms include chronic aches, stiffness, sore muscles, decreased coordination, tingling or numbness especially upon waking, and trouble sleeping because of the pain. Symptoms that go away overnight are usually a sign of fatigue. Stretching is a good way to help increase your flexibility and reduce some of the physical effects of stress. Stretching the tendons and muscles can help reduce your risk of injury. Stretching is generally over-rated … but it might be good for trigger points. One of the worst problems I have is my lower back from all the sitting all day behind the wheel. This shortens the thigh muscles which helps to aggravate any back pain. If you take a short twenty minute walk to warm the muscles, then do some stretching exercises you will over a short time span begin to feel you back pain less and less.
Conclusion
Repetitive motion injuries are on the increase. Repetitive motion injuries are some of the most common, painful, soft tissue problems in the United States, making up over 50 percent of all athletic-related injuries seen by physicians. Repetitive motion injuries are easier to treat in their early stages. Repetitive motion injuries are the most common type of office injury, followed by back injuries and trips and falls. Repetitive motion injuries are one of the more frequent hazards of the modern workplace. Repetitive motion injuries, also called repetitive stress injuries, are temporary or permanent injuries to muscles, nerves, ligaments, and tendons caused by performing the same motion over and over again. Repetitive motion injuries can often be healed quickly if promptly reported. Ergonomic techniques have been recommended and successfully used to improve or correct workplaces that cause cumulative trauma disorders.
If you have the time between on duty and off duty shifts take the time to stretch go for a walk and do some basic calisthenics. This will save you from a lifetime of aches and pains, and help you to live a happier healthier life.