June is National Safety Month

The National Safety Council designates the month of June as National Safety Month. During Safety Month, the NSC encourages businesses, organizations, families and individuals to take steps to:

• Prevent abuse of prescription drugs
• Prevent slip and fall accidents
• Increase your awareness of your surroundings
• Stop distracted driving
• Stay safe this summer

The NSC has developed a motto for the month that says “Safety: It takes all of us.” The idea behind this motto is that if everyone in a workplace, home, on the road or in another setting took the time to see and recognize safety hazards ahead of time, then we could all effectively prevent many of the injuries caused by such hazards.

Unexpected physical injuries are a leading cause of disability for people of all ages, and the leading cause of death for Americans age 1 to 44, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. HHS also says 1.) about 18 women die every day in the US because of overdose of prescription drugs, 2.) about 1 in 5 car accidents resulting in injury involve distracted driving, and 3.) 1 in 3 older Americans fall every year, which can lead to serious injuries. By preventing the hazardous scenarios that cause these accidents, we can all work to avoid serious injury to ourselves and our loved ones.