Page 8 - Occupational Health & Safety, October 2019

WINTER HAZARDS
Preparing for Old Man Winter’s Arrival
Taking a look at winter hazards and five important safety tips to help mitigate them.
BY GREGORY LAROCHELLE
As winter descends upon us, a light dusting of snow can add a little magic to your day as well as a lot of hazards. Headquartered in Maine, MEMIC has more than a little experience addressing winter hazards as one of the leading workers’ compensation insurers in the North- east. Let’s have a look at some of the most common winter hazards and five important safety tips to help mitigate each of them. Injuries cost a lot of pain and sorrow, and following these tips will save you many headaches and could even save your life.
Getting to the Car
The most dangerous thing you do every day is likely going out for a drive, and in the winter, the risk is compounded. Just getting to your vehicle can be a for- midable task, almost comical if it weren’t so perilous. For vehicle entry and egress, remember to:
1. Wear appropriate footwear for outdoor winter weather. Bring along other shoes and put them on once indoors. Consider wearing traction enhancing devices like Yaktrax and STABILicers.
2. Park in authorized or cleared parking spaces. Avoid spaces where ice is likely to lurk.
3. Keep your hands free and use the door, steering wheel, or other surface for support.
4. Do not carry too much, and place items into
your vehicle, while in a supported stance, before you enter. When exiting, grab your items once you’re out of the vehicle rather than hoisting them out with you.
5. Take short steps at a slower pace. This helps to maximize footwear contact with the ground and keeps you more centered over your base of support.
MEMIC provides a lot of education on prevent- ing slips, trips, and falls (STFs) as they constitute our leading injury loss source in both claim frequency and severity. In a typical month, we may see 460 STF claims, but that increases to more than 700 per month when factoring in ice and parking lot/vehicle-related STFs. It is not uncommon for a STF to cost more than $125,000. We’ve even seen someone rendered a para- plegic as a result of a spinal cord injury from a slip and fall in a parking lot with the medical and wage replacement costs at nearly $1.5 million. For the safety of yourself and others, please sand and salt diligently.
Winter Driving and Tire Safety
So, you’ve made it to your vehicle: congratulations. Maybe that has relieved a little pressure? Now it’s time to think about tire safety and winter driving:
1. Select the appropriate tire for the conditions in which you are driving. Snow tires provide better trac- tion in the snow than all-season tires, but they need to be changed seasonally.
2. Frequent inspection, regular tire rotation, and proper inflation pressure are vital for tires and vehicle performance.
3. Allow plenty of time for travel and familiarize yourself with weather conditions and the route you are driving, in advance, with maps and directions. Allow time to clear the snow off your vehicle—particularly snow/ice accumulation from the windshield—and al- ways check to ensure the tail pipe is not covered or clogged with snow to prevent possible carbon mon- oxide exposure.
4. Cell phones and electronic devices need to be put away when operating a vehicle to avoid dis- tracted driving, throughout the year and especially during winter.
5. Keep sand and a shovel in your vehicle in case you need to add traction to ground surfaces that are icy and dicey. Keep an emergency travel kit in your ve- hicle that includes the following: a flashlight, jumper cables, kitty litter or other coarse friction enhancing material, snow brush/ice scraper, warning devices, blankets, energy-boosting snacks, and water.
8 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2019
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