The National Safety Council (NSC) has designated this month as National Safety Month, and this week as “Distracted Driving Week.”  Were you aware that 80% of all motor vehicle crashes are the result of driver inattention? Many studies have shown that use by the driver of wireless communication devices (talking on a cell phone, texting messages, or reading your email, for instance) is one of the main distractions affecting drivers, and also one of the most common. This is so often the case that the NSC has just launched a new advertising campaign on billboards across the country called “Death by Cell Phone.”

Bottom line: If you’re truly focused on your driving, and more importantly, on the other guy’s driving, you should never get bored and need to talk, text, or read. Or eat and drink. When you or a member of your family or one of your friends is driving the car, just drive the car.

Of course, being safe in the car also requires that you wear seatbelts.

In addition to motor vehicle safety, you should take this opportunity to think about safety in all areas of your life. Walk through your house and look for potential dangers – that electrical cord in the middle of the floor that could be tripped over; the rug that slides when you step on it; that bedside table on which the books are stacked way too high. Regularly check all your medications – over the counter and prescription, and your foods for expiration dates. (And your eye makeup as well.) Look around your yard and your neighborhood for hidden safety hazards. Start doing this now and do it on a regular basis throughout the year. Go to the NSC’s website for other good ideas about keeping you and your family safe: http://www.nsc.org/

I’ll end this reminder about safety by telling you that it is also “National Goat Trauma Awareness Month.”  This is important for you to know even if you don’t have a goat, or do not know a good goat therapist. (Sorry about that but you can see what I initially thought “goat trauma” meant.) The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation says that most trauma occurs at petting zoos, and therefore to be careful there, or better yet, avoid them. They also say that, because loose goat attacks mostly occur in less populated areas, you may not be safe even in civilized areas as there have been reports of “roaming urban goats.” Be forewarned.

If you’d like more information on this, go to: http://www.goat-trauma.org/news.shtml      Janet Horn