Over the past few months I have noticed an abundance of recalls for various products, including mass recalls after ignition switch defects in General Motors cars. As noted on their website (http://www.gmignitionupdate.com/faq.html), “There is a risk, under certain conditions, that your ignition switch may move out of the “run” position, resulting in a partial loss of […]
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American trauma surgeons on gun control
I think going to this site is well worth the visit. It presents the position of American trauma surgeons with respect to gun control issues. It is a healthy antidote to the bizarre arguments that also appear on the Medscape site suggesting that doctors should NOT provide advice about gun control in part because they […]
Balcony collapse – a potential (unseen?) threat to users of all ages
Unfortunately here in Australia we have had a number of collapses of the family home balcony, and last month the casualty was a 3 month old baby boy who had been cradled in his mother’s arms moments before the fateful fall (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/death-of-baby-in-niagara-park-balcony-collapse-prompts-building-safety-warning/story-fngr8h0p-1226857651952). Such balcony collapses are by no means unique events here in Australia (e.g., http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/balcony-collapse-injures-five-people-at-nowra-in-nsw/story-e6frg6nf-1226743237328; […]
Low speed vehicle run-over incidents remain in the spotlight
PubMed abounds with articles exploring the epidemiology of low speed vehicle run-overs (e.g., doi: 10.1136/ip.2010.030304; 10.1111/jpc.12188; 10.1111/wvn.12014; 10.1136/injuryprev-2013-040932; 10.1186/1471-2458-14-245; 10.1186/1471-2458-14-245). The devastating consequences of low speed vehicle run-over incidents has led to a plethora of suggested intervention and ‘tips’ for parents and others interested in child and infant injury prevention (for example, http://www.kidsafewa.com.au/drivewaysafety.html; http://www.safekids.org.nz/index.php/page/driveway-run-over-kit-locations; http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/child-driveway-accidents.html). In addition, […]
Safety defects in GM cars: the role of industry and government
This is verbatim from an article in the New York Times, via Lombardo. When we think about injury prevention we must never lose sight of the major role government has to play, especially when ensuring the safety of dangerous products. One of the most dangerous, in my view, is the automobile. “What we do know […]
A radical step in injury prevention – preventing table-saw injuries
After blogging “Table saw 1, Injury-free arm and hand 0” on the 20th of May last year, I have remained alert to news regarding installation of injury prevention devices on table saws. Pleasingly my father has left the building industry with all his digits and limbs intact, however other table-saw users have not fared to […]
Grumpy over-protective Nanny Barry
Am I the only person in the injury prevention world who watched the Olympics with a mixture of admiration and condemnation? What struck me — and perhaps only me — was that virtually every one of the ‘sports’ were dangerous. The danger element ranged from simple falls on the ice for dancers without helmets to […]
Overcoming obstacles encountered in translating research into practice
Regular readers of the injury prevention blog will know I have commented on a number of occasions regarding the need to (1) share our research findings, and (2) translate research into practice and policy. Whilst this is the ideal, I also realise that there are many obstacles to this being the actual, another topic […]
Maintaining the momentum
Alcohol-fuelled violence continues on Australian streets – Google this topic, and pages and pages of hits will appear. You will also note in these pages that this has become an increasingly alarming issue over the years, with much public outcry in recent times. The randomness of such violence, and the magnitude and variety of injuries – […]
A safer paper-based (!) bike helmet
Anna Lacey, reporter for the BBC Health Check, notes that the basic idea behind cycle helmets is to create a mini crumple zone to absorb some of the impact energy and give your skull and brain more time to slow down before coming to a stop. Those extra few milliseconds can reduce the amount of […]