Motorcoaches carry 750 million passengers annually in the U.S.  An average of 19 motorcoach occupants are killed each year on U.S. roadways.  Ejections account for seventy-eight percent of the fatalities in motorcoach rollover crashes and twenty-eight percent of the fatalities in non-rollover crashes.  Wearing lap-shoulder belts on motorcoaches could reduce the risk for passengers of being killed in a rollover crash by 77 percent, primarily by preventing occupant ejection in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  Motorcoach rollover crashes, while relatively rare, can cause a significant number of fatal or serious injuries in a single event. (more…)

They’re a staple of toddler’s birthday parties, children’s holiday parties and other seemingly carefree events. Your children take off their footwear and climb into the inflated bounce house and you’re free from worry (and perhaps bother) for a few minutes. Or are you? If the allegations in California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s lawsuit against several companies involved in manufacturing children’s bounce houses are correct, some of the inflatable structures contain unsafe amounts of lead in their vinyl covering. (more…)

Hyperthermia (heat-stroke) is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths for children under the age of fourteen. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found at least 27 documented deaths per year. NHTSA research shows the risk of a serious injury or death during hot weather is heightened for children left alone in vehicles. The hot summer we’ve been having makes more pertinent the Consumer Advisory the NHTSA issued to remind parents and caregivers that summer heat can make it especially dangerous to leave children in cars. (more…)

Concerns about poor safety decisions behind the wheel and not paying attention to vehicle maintenance have prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) to issue a consumer advisory, including a list of the NHTSA’S top safety tips for summer. The major concerns are distracted driving and improper tire inflation. Distraction is such a big problem that there is a website devoted to it: www.distraction.gov.

The top tips are: (more…)

Baby slings – soft fabrics that wrap around the chest so that busy parents can carry their babies or just stay close as they bond with their infants – are potentially dangerous products that continue to be of great concern. This past week the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall of about 40 Sprout Stuff infant ring slings. The CPSC advised consumers to immediately stop using Sprout Stuff infant ring slings due to a risk of suffocation to infants. This recall follows one on March 24, 2010 by Infantino LLC, of more than one million Infantino “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” infant slings. (more…)

Summer season unfortunately always comes with reports of drowning accidents in pools and at the beach.  This season is starting no differently as this past week marked a bad beginning to the beach season in Long Beach, New York. Two young me drowned on Wednesday in the rip-tided infested surf.  Also on Wednesday, a man sitting on a lounge chair on the beach was run over by a Long Beach Police sport utility vehicle that reportedly was responding to an ocean-swimmer in destress. Its operator stated that he did not see the man before he hit him and injured his spine. (more…)

Working in consultation with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), McNeil Consumer Healthcare is implementing a voluntary recall of infant and children’s liquid products due to manufacturing deficiencies which may affect quality, purity or potency. Some of the manufacturing deficiencies include products that may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified; others that contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others that may contain tiny particles. (more…)

You’d be forgiven if you mistook a Camel Orb for a Tic Tac mint. They share a similar size and shape, and have candy flavoring. But Camel Orbs are no breath mint. Instead, Orbs are made of finely ground tobacco packed with nicotine, a highly addictive drug. Or if you prefer, you can chose a thin strip similar to some breath mint products or a stick resembling a toothpick. With their discreet form, candy-like appearance, and added flavorings that may be attractive to young children, smokeless tobacco products are of concern. From 2002 to 2006, there was an average increase of 6% per year recent increase in the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among adolescents. (more…)

In 2009, there were three infant deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers. Going back 20 years there have been 14 other deaths. Twelve of the seventeen deaths involved babies younger than 4 months of age. As a result, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) earlier this month warned parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. (more…)

Last month there were two fires in Long Island schools.  Just days before there was a fire in Riverhead Charter School, South Bay Elementary School in West Babylon was destroyed by fire, forcing relocation of its classes to a nearby church. The school was built in the early 1950s. Fire sprinklers were not required at that time. Since then, updated building codes in New York and other states require sprinklers in school spaces of more than 20,000 square feet. But sprinklers are not required in schools built before the code was changed. In addition, the 20,000 square foot rule is commonly skirted by designing schools in sections that are smaller than 20,000 square feet within fire-resistant walls. So where does that leave our children? (more…)