Category Archives: Safety

Safe Driving in the Winter ‘Weather Bomb’

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The much publicized Weather Bomb, AKA Bomb Cyclone is here in full force. As the storm travels north, much of the northeast is experiencing blinding snowstorms and fierce winds, and states of emergency have been declared in five states. Schools and airports are closed and warnings are in effect for workers to stay home and keep off the roads.

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Some people must get out and drive, however, and so whether making deliveries, heading to or from work, or running necessary errands, drivers and asked to use heightened caution.

AAA recommends a number of precautions, including this basic tip: Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly when accelerating is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids, AAA said, cautioning that it takes time to slow down for a stoplight as it takes longer to slow down on icy roads.

From Rear View Safety:
QBE notes that because any hazards are magnified with winter driving conditions, all distractions should be avoided. Check out these tips for safe driving and emergency measures.

QBE’s tips for safe winter driving:

  • Avoid driving while fatigued. It’s important to get the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather driving to reduce risks.
  • Never run a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage, even if it’s just until it “warms up.”
  • Make certain your tires are in good condition and properly inflated.
  • Keep your gas tank at least half full at all times and full if severe winter weather is possible.
  • If possible, avoid using the car’s parking brake in cold, rainy or snowy weather.
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  • Do not use your cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
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  • Always look and steer in the direction you want to go to ensure safe travels and avoid possible hazards.
  • Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.
  • Watch weather reports prior to a long-distance drive or before driving in isolated areas. Delay any trip when bad weather is expected. If you must travel, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.
  • Have regular vehicle inspections conducted to ensure you vehicle is in peak operating condition.

If you are snowbound:

  • Make sure you have appropriate phone numbers in your cell phone in case emergency phone calls are needed.
  • Stay with your vehicle. The car will provide temporary shelter and make it easier for rescuers to locate you.
  • Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna or place a cloth at the top of a rolled up window to signal distress.
  • At night, keep the dome light on if possible. It only uses a small amount of electricity and will make it easier for rescuers to find you.
  • Run the engine and heater just long enough to remove the chill to conserve gasoline.
  • Don’t try to walk in a severe snow storm. It is easy to lose sight of your vehicle and become lost in blowing snow.
  • Don’t over exert yourself if you try to push or dig your vehicle out of the snow.
  • Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.

Get Ready for the ‘Weather Bomb’

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In case you need another reason to dread getting to work this first week of 2018, several weather authorities are warning of a major storm that could affect a majority of the United States with freezing conditions. Storm advisories are being issued from New England states to southeastern winter getaways. Residents of South Carolina, Georgia and even northern Florida should be thinking about stocking up on ground salt, thermal pants and hand warmers.

Nancy Egan, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) regional manager warned: “A dangerous combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain is on the horizon for the Southeast. Weather like this can cause auto accidents, and property damage, and leave thousands without power. Driving in these treacherous conditions can be tricky, so if you do venture out, make sure your vehicle has a winter storm kit in case you have an accident or get stuck and have to wait for help.”

PCI suggests that winter storm kits include a windshield scraper and small broom; flashlight with extra batteries; road salt, sand or cat litter for traction; booster cables; emergency flares and reflectors; snack food; blankets and a first aid kit.

These warnings are inspired by speculation that intensifying winds and cold will bring about a phenomenon known as “bombogenesis” from Thursday to Friday. In an online primer, Mashable delved into the relevant information that organizations need to know about the “weather bomb” or “bomb cyclone.”

[Bombogenesis] refers to a low pressure area whose minimum central air pressure plummets by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. By feasting off of intense atmospheric disturbances as well as differences in air masses and ocean temperatures, including the moisture rich Gulf Stream waters, the upcoming tempest is projected to exceed that intensification rate by several more millibars in 24 hours. This intensification rate, if it comes to pass, would be astonishing.

The potential impact of the upcoming storm could equal that of a Category 3 hurricane, the same strength Hurricane Sandy reached at its peak in 2012. With this in mind, companies located anywhere along the projected path should be heeding the warnings and preparing.

This follows a cold snap that has so far killed at least 11 people in cold-related deaths in the U.S. since Tuesday morning, CNN reported. Some of the victims were located in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Missouri and Texas.

The Southeast has a history of being especially vulnerable to cold-weather conditions. On Jan. 29, 2014, the greater-Atlanta area was rendered nearly unnavigable due to about two inches of snow and ice. Although Georgia is the home of the Weather Channel, state officials failed to act on warnings of the precipitation and freezing conditions, and closed all schools mid-day—about the same time that businesses shuttered for the day. Between parents who were on the road to pick up their children and adults leaving their workplaces due to early closings, millions of cars ended up on roadways, causing a gridlock that prevented salt trucks from safely getting to and from storage areas.

The consequences were unprecedented for the area. Although no fatalities were recorded, the Peach State experienced thousands of traffic accidents, closures and even automobile abandonments on interstate highways.

To prevent such a disaster from reoccurring, Georgia’s Department of Transportation announced via Twitter this week that it has mobilized 13 trucks loaded with salt and gravel in anticipation of the storm. While no announcements have been distributed on the Florida Department of Transportation’s site, FloridaDisaster.org is keeping its visitors updated with news of “below average temperatures.” South Carolina has been posting updates on its DOT site, and reminding motorists to use particular caution and to “watch for slow moving SCDOT equipment applying deicing materials.”

Latest Amtrak Derailment Could Have Been Prevented

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An Amtrak train derailment near Tacoma, Washington on Dec. 18 that killed three passengers and injured about 100 was the result of excessive speed in a steep curve, and could have been prevented with automatic braking technology, according to experts.

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Amtrak Train No. 501, on its inaugural run, was traveling 80 miles per hour in an area limited to 30 miles per hour when it derailed on an overpass, sending the train’s 12 coaches and one of its two engines careening onto the highway below.

As previously reported in Risk Management, a similar derailment in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015 that killed eight, was also blamed on excessive speed and could have been avoided if a technology, called “positive train control” (PTC), had been in place.

PTC is designed to eliminate human error by using four components: GPS satellite data, onboard locomotive equipment, the dispatching office and wayside interface units. The system communicates with the train’s onboard computer, allowing it to audibly warn the engineer and display the train’s safe braking distance based on its speed, length, width and weight, as well as the grade and curvature of the track, according to railroad operator Metrolink. If the engineer does not respond to the warning, the onboard computer will activate the brakes and safely stop the train.

In the aftermath of a 2008 collision in Chatsworth, California, when 25 passengers were killed, Congress enacted the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

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It required each Class 1 rail carrier and each provider of regularly-scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger service to implement a PTC system by Dec. 31, 2015. Because of the high costs—implementation is estimated to cost million for commuter trains—and complexity of the system, however, the requirement was extended three years.

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Railroads are now mandated by federal law to have a system in place by the end of 2018.

More About Santa-Related Risks

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Earlier this month, we reviewed how the mere mention of Santa Claus can affect business and finance. Tying his name to a stock market rally or business operation could make values jolly, or the reverse, it could have more of a Freddy Krueger effect. But even if your portfolio and productivity remain unchanged, Santa-related risks can also follow you home and even impact family life.

Anyone who needs more than a mere glimpse of Santa Claus may want to take the fun a step further and attend one of the SantaCons across the country (many of which will be held this weekend). According to SantaCon.info, the best-known repository for SantaCons, at least 397 cities in 52 countries host the events, and some cities have more than one. Whether you want to appear in costume or take your family, dressed in their red, green and white seasonal sweaters, the site has some tips to help you avoid getting jilted out of holiday cheer. The site warns that while SantaCons are typically free, some are ticketed events to help organizers cover excess costs, and many of the Santa-themed events are commercial. Then there are the spoilers. It continues:

Again, this year, websites are popping-up making false claims and trying to sell SantaCon tickets. Please be careful not to get scammed and also consider the reputation and safety risks involved. Use this guide:

  • Most SantaCons are completely free to attend (Washington, D.C. is one of these).
  • Many SantaCons request a donation which is completely optional (San Francisco is one of these).
  • Some SantaCons request a donation which gets you some benefits (NYC is one of these).

Visit the site to review the overall criteria for entering and remaining at SantaCon for the event’s duration.

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The most important guidelines cover dress, safety, and conduct:

  1. You can dress how you like but the theme is red.
  2. Don’t make kids cry.
  3. Don’t mess with security and make people feel unsafe.
  4. Don’t get drunk or high.

(It would seem like disregarding tips 3 and 4 could directly cause #2.)

Additionally, be sure to determine if your SantaCon will be family-friendly or for adults only. Some of these events are fundraisers for charities, while others are just a prelude to a pub crawl—which does contradict the fact that Santa is generally discouraged from drunk and disorderly behavior (see guideline #4 above). Those pub crawls are often limited to the Santas in the crowd, but why shouldn’t everybody be merry?

And although you and your family will see Santa’s foot soldiers, lots of people will wonder which is the real Santa amid all the white beards and red hats.

What has become a pastime on Christmas Eve is the tracking of Santa’s location and progress.

There are several devices and agencies dedicated to keeping tabs on Santa. One of the most popular trackers is run by NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command).

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Its Santa Tracker began in 1955 after a newspaper ad for Sears mistakenly listed a phone number that kids could dial to reach Santa Claus; it was actually a secret line to the red phone at the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor. One of the outcomes of the ad was to expose the risk of typographical errors in print publications.

Using more than one tracker on Christmas Eve, like the Google Santa Tracker, can call into question Santa’s aerodynamic abilities among children whose vocabularies might not include the word “aerodynamic.” Two trackers may simultaneously show Santa along different routes and indicate different amounts of presents delivered. So once a child is actively following Santa activities on more than one tracker, he or she may then ask: “How can he be in China on the Google tracker when NORAD says he’s in Nebraska?”

Most people actively tracking Santa do not want to comment on the technological and supply chain risks involved, accidentally bringing a “bah humbug” to the holiday. Of course, if you are seeking that information, enjoy reading one of his many risk assessments.