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Heat stroke is a serious risk for children left unattended in cars. The Kids and Cars organization reports that on average 38 children will die from heat stroke in a vehicle each year. Most of these children were left in the car unintentionally. The technology currently exists to prevent these tragic deaths, such as rear-seat reminder systems within a vehicle or alerts from a 3rd party device or application. But, until car manufacturers voluntarily incorporate this technology in all vehicles or the NHTSA forces manufacturers to do so, these tragic deaths will continue. Because even the most caring parent can…..

On Wednesday, June 10, 2015, I attended the American Society of Safety Engineers Annual Conference to present “Overreaching on Ladders: Motivated to Succeed or Fail?”  This presentation was part of Safety 2015 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. My presentation described a laboratory experiment regarding ladder safety that was completed while I was a Research Scientist at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.  Assuming that ladders are manufactured to the proper design guidelines and meet the OSHA 1926.1053 regulations, it is important for individuals to employ best practices for use and care……

Machinery and equipment pose many safety hazards in the workplace and to the consumer at home.  However, the application of safety hazard analysis and the priorities for accident prevention remain largely the same regardless of the safety hazard presented.  A variety of safety hierarchies have existed for decades to guide engineering design where safety hazards are concerned and to promote safety and accident prevention.  Understanding this process can also assist in post-accident product evaluation. Safety hierarchies provide guidelines for the design of any type of equipment that presents a potential safety hazard. Any safety hierarchy first requires that a product…..

When a car crash occurs and you are using any type of accident reconstructionist simulation software, you need to make certain that the data you’re inputting is accurate, because the old adage, “garbage in, garbage out”, holds true.  Put simply, an accident reconstruction simulation is only as valid as the inputs you enter.  If you have the wrong inputs, the simulation software will correctly crunch that data, but will result in an incorrect final determination. Recently, a client and I were discussing an accident reconstruction simulation I performed using the EdSMAC program and, more specifically, why my simulation was correct and…..