Rich Palmer

Adults not as safe as they think

Saturday
Sep 8, 2007

Misplaced Concerns

In our survey, we listed the top five causes of unintentional home injury and asked respondents to identify the injury they worry is most likely to happen in their own home. About one-third (35%) selected fires/burns first while only 19% selected falls and just 1% of adults selected poisoning as their top concern, meaning less than one-fifth of respondents were most worried about the most common home injury – falls. The actual five leading causes of unintentional home injury in the U.S., in ranked order, are: 1. falls, 2. poisoning and 3. fires/burns, followed by 4. choking/suffocation and 5. drowning.

This survey from the Home Safety Council does not surprise me. I’ve taught safety in my community for more than 16 years. I typically find a sense of apathy and non-interest from people when I discuss safety in and around the home.

My podcast show, HomeSafe 411, received such low response that I could not perceive value in spending time producing it. Unfortunate, but it does seem most of us are apathetic in our approach toward safety. it is easier to be entertained than to consume information from time to time that might help us stay more safe.