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QCC Safety Corner

March 2023
  • Safety Corner

Safety Training

Campus Resource Officer Nicholas Yacuzzi will be holding a new safety series for staff, faculty and students on Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. in 120S. The first session was on general safety procedures related to QCC. At the first session Officer Yacuzzi collected feedback on the initial sessions to develop future topics. The next session will be held on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

For more information, please emai//nyacuzzi [at] qcc.mass.edu">l Officer Yacuzzi

Text Messaging Tragedies

by Deputy Chief of Administration Reynaldo Rodriguez

 

Distractions while driving are dangerous. Changing channels on the radio, eating food or drinking a beverage are all common ways to keep the driver distracted. All are already against the law. For a few years, people have been using mobile phones to talk as yet another way to be distracted. What really has become worse than all of these combined is texting while driving. Not only is your mental focus away from controlling your vehicle safely, but you are also physically occupied.

There have been studies to try to put reality into our perceptions. One study claims that as many as 75% of drivers now use a cell phone. Another study stated that those who text message while driving are 6 times more likely to be in an accident. Not all of these are fatalities, but accidents nonetheless. These are not drunk drivers, but sober ones.

Text messaging has become a part of our culture as well and when a majority of us think that it is ok, it somehow is accepted. To illustrate how popular it is, the New York City Police Department had a 24-hour crackdown on cell phone use including texting. The results were that they wrote 7,432 tickets. On a typical day when the focus was not on driving while using cell phones, only 580 were written.

Since text messaging or using a cell phone is a problem, it won’t be easy to change. It’s true that not every single use of a phone has resulted in a crash, but the potential is still there. I know I would not want to be killed or have a friend or family member killed by a driver who was simply distracted.

A great public service announcement that was put out by a police agency in Great Britain should be seen by everyone who drives a car and especially those who think texting isn’t a problem. To view it on Youtube.com, look up “PSA Texting while Driving U.K.”.

Tips:

  • Don’t talk or answer your cell phone while driving.
  • If you’re going to do anything but drive, pull over or wait until you are safely stopped.
  • Buckle up—Every Trip—Every Time!
  • Scan the roadway well ahead of you.
  • Use your mirrors and adjust them properly.
  • Don’t follow too closely.
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