August—School Safety

The Biggest Risk
By Don Schneider

Nobody can avoid risk. It’s everywhere. It’s part of our everyday lives. One function of insurance companies is to help us recognize risk and minimize its impact on our lives. Almost four thousand people are injured every year while brushing their teeth, and about three million people are injured in the United States each year while driving.1 Yet we still encourage people to brush their teeth because the benefits of doing so far outweigh the risks. And we continue to drive our vehicles too–managing the associated risks by using speed limits, seat belts, and stop lights.
Full article

School Safety: I’m Suing My Teacher!
By Christian W. Johnston, Esq.
Imagine this: A second-grade teacher keeps a lit candle on her desk in the classroom while her class is preparing to stage a play. An eight-year-old student is trying on her “bluebird” costume, made from crepe and tissue paper; she wanders too close to the candle and the costume catches fire. The little girl sustains burns over nearly a quarter of her body.1Full article

Safe Transport for Kids
By Gary Hile
If you’re involved with an academy or elementary school you probably transport kids to and from school and other school functions daily, but in what kind of vehicle? A magic schoolbus? Probably not. However, here is something to consider. Is your school “bus” a true bus or just a van? According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) there are certain standards a vehicle must meet to be safe and qualify as a school bus. Standard 220 was first established in 1977, requiring certain rollover protections, such as stronger panels and fewer joints. Manufacturers found through testing that regardless of how many fasteners were placed on a joint, it would bend, causing a collapse. Standard 301, also established in 1977, requires fuel tank integrity to protect fuel from leaking or exploding in an accident. Full article

Playground Safety
By John J. Dougan, ARM, ALCM
There is something intimidating about writing an article on playground safety in 300 words. After all, it took 43 pages for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to address this issue in their Handbook for Public Playground Safety (Publication No. 325, www.cpsc.gov). The word count tabulator in Microsoft Word indicates that by the end of the last sentence I have already used up 42 words, so I had better get down to the assigned task.

Risky Business Cartoon
By John J. Dougan

“It's soft so you won't get hurt out here, Johnnie. Now, what did you say you lost?”