Developing Safe Habits meee QQ se Quick Write Think of an injury that you experienced recently. Safety First “Never play with matches!” “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Your parents or guardians probably began teaching you petaried safety rules like these as soon as you were old enough to under- Rea Mbt stand them. You may even repeat them to younger children, It’s not only important to lear the rules; it’s also essential to be a?) safety conscious. To be ‘means to be aware that safety is important and to be careful to act in a safe manner: Preven- tion is the best way to avoid and reduce risks. Prevention includes Whatitmeanstobe thinking ahead and trying to spot possible . or potential safety conscious. sources of danger, before accidents and unintentional injuries occur. causes of uninten- Accidents are the unexpected events that cause unintentional injuries. apes fae are injuries caused by unexpected events. tentional it ie : een mies According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescents are more likely to die from injuries than from all diseases i combined. In the United States, unintentional injuries result in more than 90,000 deaths each year. Figure 14.1 shows the types of acci- Unintentional injury 00'S that cause the largest number of deaths in the United States, Ficure 14. —a_ Causes OF DEATH FROM ACCIDENTS In 1998 more than one-third of all deaths in motor vehicle collisions involved alcohol use by a driver or pedestrian, Why do. |FCo DSs as] Fes, | Chokings [Accidents ow think alconotcon- EERO Mls in a tributes to so many A Ruel ts deaths of this kind? Des ee 394 Cuspren 14: PERSONAL SAFETY AND INJURY PREVENTIONHow Unintentional Injuries Occur Being safety conscious means taking commonsense precautions, such as wearing protective gear when you go bicycling or in-line skating. Most unintentional injuries happen because people become careless, They are often the result of an “accident chain,” a sequence of events that leads to an unintentional injury. Figure 14.2 demon- strates an accident chain. Ficure 14.2 — THe ACCIDENT CHAIN Nicole’s unsafe habit and unsafe action contribute to her injury. How does each one play a role in the accident chain? The Situation Nicole has overslept. She is rushing to put her jacket on and eat breakfast so that she doesn’t * ‘miss the bus. Nicole is thinking only of getting to the bus stop. She races out the door without looki ‘The Accident Nicole trips over her skates and falls for- ward onto the sidewalk. Caring Thinking about others’ safety shows that you care. For example, keep floors and stairways at home free of clutter to help prevent falls. What else can you do to help ensure others’ safety? ‘The Unsafe Habit ‘When Nicole takes off her skates, she usually leaves them on the front steps. When she falls, Nicole sprains her wrist and scrapes both hands. She also misses her bus. LESSON 1: Devetovinc Sare Hastrs 395Breaking the Accident Chain If Nicole had been safety conscious, she might not have gotten hurt. There were several points at which she could have broken the accident chain. Breaking just one link diszbles the accident chain aud prevents unintentional injuries. Take a look at the actions Nicole could have taken to break a link in the accident chain. Which one do you think she should have chosen? © Change the situation. Nicole could have planned ahead. She could have set her alarm or arranged for another family member to wake her if she did not get up on time. © Change the unsafe habit. Leaving your belongings on floors, steps, and other places where people have to walk is a careless habit that can lead to injury. Nicole could have put her skates in her closet, on a shelf, or in another safe place. © Change the unsafe action. Although ste was in a hurry, Nicole could have remained safety conscious. She could have kept her eye on the path to the bus stop to make sure that it was clear, Ve EE ela Decision MakinG Getting Home Safely 1. STATE THE SITUATION. Brandon has basketball practice on 2. List THE OPTions. Wednesday evenings. Because his parents 3. WEIGH THE PossIBLE OUTCOMES, ‘work late, he usually rides his bike to and 4, CONSIDER VALUES. from practice, When he left his house to go 10-5. MAKE A DECISION AND ACT, practice, it was sunny. However, by the time hie got out of practice, it was raining hard. Brandon is worried that it might not be safe to Tide hie bike home in this weather. IV's too far for hin: to walk home, and his parents won’ be able to pick him up for at least an hour. What Would You Do? Suppose you were in Brandon's situation. ‘Write aparagraph explaining what you would ddo1and how you used the decision-making processto help you make this choice. 6. EVALUATE THE DECISION. 396 Cuarren 14: Personat SArery AND INjuRY PREVENTIONBy changing the situation, the unsafe habit, or the unsafe action, Nicole could have prevented her accident and injury. If Nicole had gotten up on time, she would not have had to rush. If Nicole had put the skates in a safe place, she would not have tripped over them. If she had been paying attention, she would have stepped around the skates or pushed them out of the way. Not only would Nicole have prevented injury, but she also would have made it to the bus stop Think about what you have done this week. How could you have been on time. more safety conscious? Nicole now tries to pre- vent accident chains from forming. What hazards can you identify in your daily routine that could become part of an accident chain? Using complete sentences, answer the following questions on a sheet of paper. Reviewing Terms and Facts 1. Vocabulary Define the term safety con- scious. Explain how being safety conscious can help you prevent unintentional injuries. }. List Name the links in an accident chain. . Restate What can you do to break an ac- cident chain? ey Thinking Critically 4. Explain What do you think is meant by the expression “safety first”? 5. Hypothesize Find a newspaper article about a motor vehicle collision, Construct an accident chain based on the events described in the article. Applying Health Skills 6. Stress Management Could your reaction to stress lead to an unintentional injury? For example, do you tend not to pay attention to what you are doing if you are worried about something? Does stress ever cause you to feel angry so that you behave in unsafe ways? On a sheet of paper, explain whether you think stress causes you to engage in risk behaviors, and why. Then describe what you could do to change this behavior. L1sson 1: Devetorine Sare Hants 397