At its peak in the early 1980s, drunk driving in Virginia killed around 600 people a year, accounting for half of all traffic deaths. Thanks to harsher fines, state-sponsored traffic and driving schools, and alcohol awareness programs, Virginia has seen a decrease in drunk driving deaths since the 80s, but they continue to cause a [...]
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Falls are the leading cause of fatalities for construction workers, with 400 to 500 deaths resulting from falls each year in the United States. They account for nearly one-third of all deaths in the construction industry. Some of the most common falls are those that occur from roofs, which can result from unprotected holes, improper [...]
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A 34-year-old Maryland construction worker died in a construction accident a few weeks ago. An employee of W.F. Wilson & Sons Inc., the man was working at a residential construction site when an excavator hit him in the head. These large machines range in size from several tons to several hundred tons of metal and [...]
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Several websites and blogs have been reporting on the frequency of pedestrian or cyclist accidents in the DC metro area. Some sites have created interactive maps that show the locations of the accidents. Washington DC Fire and EMS maintain a twitter site where they recently reported that there are 8-10 pedestrian accidents every single day. [...]
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that falls from heights are responsible for one-third of construction fatalities. Employers could have prevented many of these. Safety precautions that save lives are no mystery. Such things as personal fall arrest systems, guardrails, harnesses, and safety nets make construction work safer. Too often, however, workers fail [...]
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The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) recently completed its investigation of the DC Metro accident that killed nine people in June of 2009. The accident occurred just after 5 p.m. during the busy rush hour commute home. A red line Metro train slammed into the back of another one outside of Fort Totten Station. [...]
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For the most part, amusement parks and roller coasters are a safe way for a family to get outside and have fun. Government agencies and park management regularly inspect rides to ensure that park visitors are not at risk. Despite these safety efforts, however, injuries frequently occur at amusement parks and on roller coaster rides. [...]
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Representatives from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a Washington DC-based federal agency, recently visited a zinc plant in Pennsylvania after an explosion killed two workers and injured two more. The two killed were members of the United Steelworkers Local 8183 union and died as a result of suffocation from smoke inhalation. If unsafe work conditions [...]
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Emergency responders described a boating accident in Virginia a few weekends ago as one of the worst they have ever seen. The crash scene included shattered glass and fiberglass, severely injured people treading water holding onto steel marker beams to keep from floating away, and beer cans strewn about. One person died in the crash, [...]
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Bicycling advocates in Washington DC recently marked the two-year anniversary of the death of a 22-year-old woman on R and 20th Streets in downtown DC. The young woman died in a crash that safety advocates call a “right hook”. She was wearing a helmet and bicycling in the bicycle lane with the green light when [...]
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