Oxford Research Group, UK claims that more than 11 000 children have died as a result of the recent internal conflict in Syria – a conflict which thus far has resulted in more than hundred thousand deaths and over 2 million people displaced. [Link to news post: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25055956]. The statistics collected by Oxford Research Group, UK […]
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More on driving safety measures in Quebec
Perhaps it is because Quebec has no-fault car insurance – another of those wicked socialist ideas in the view of some of my American friends – but on many road safety matters it leads the pack in Canada. For much of Montreal, we still have no right turns on red lights or stop signs and […]
Public and political perception of risk: Injury prevention implications
Unfortunately in Australia in the last week, two men have died as a result of shark bites. The media response, which by no means is unique in these cases, has been overwhelming, with responses ranging from the call to kill the offending sharks (despite protestations of the family, for example see http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-01/search-for-shark-that-killed-bodyboarder-zac-young/5127228), and increasing the range of shark netting […]
Being king-hit: There is nothing “royal” about it
Following on from Monday’s blog re: glassing and mugging, today I would like to comment on another behaviour of concern for injury prevention: the king-hit. The king-hit has featured widely in recent Australian media, with newspaper coverage of the court trial of a young man accused of king-hitting a tourist in our nation’s capital emerging just four hours ago […]
Choking: Super scary when you are the victim
Today I am writing more of a sharing-scary-experience blog, and some of my findings after a quick stickybeak on the internet. Last night with my evening meal, I had corn as one of my 2-and-5 (for those outside Australia, a public health promotion encourages each Australian to eat two serves of fruit and five serves […]
Glassing and ‘mugging’: Sensational media or a huge problem for injury prevention?
Glassing – that is, assault with a glass implement – often involves an assailant smashing a glass into someone’s face, at which point the glass shatters and the victim is cut by the glass shards. In Australia, popular media has paid much attention to this issue, possibly in part due to the sensational nature of the […]
Irate rider’s bicycle safety update
As faithful readers will know, I am a long time cyclist, and a confirmed helmet wearer. I am even included among the many who have been ‘doored’ and I used a photo of my bloodied face in an editorial many years ago to promote helmet use. I recently wrote about the tragic deaths of several […]
Road use and the vision-impaired pedestrian
I was shocked to read in a recent media release by the Guide Dogs of Australia that half their vision impaired and blind clients had a near miss with a vehicle whilst they tried to cross the road at some time in the past five years, with 1 in 15 clients reporting they had actually […]
E-bikes and injury prevention
The ever-problematic struggle between mobility and safety is not exclusive to motorised jurisdictions such as Australia or the United States. Indeed emerging evidence suggests that developing nations are particularly vulnerable as they struggle to develop, implement and enforce road rule strategies to minimise risks to safety whilst maximising the nation’s mobility. Whilst worldwide the demand for […]
The oft-forgotten ally: Patients and injury prevention
Unfortunately I have had the recent pleasure of injuring myself – not through any heroic activity such as lifting a crashed car off a small child, but, good grief, simply through removing an article of clothing – and to prevent a similar injury I had been counselled by those in the know that surgery was my only […]