More weather warnings have hit the headlines as heavy snow forecasts are predicted across the UK, with areas in southeast England to be affected the worst, according to the BBC (source).

The Met Office has issued early warnings, with predictions that travel networks will be affected tomorrow (Friday). According to the report, forecasts are predicating up to 20cm of snow in areas in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, London, and East Anglia – complete with gale force winds to cause drifts. As lovely and festive as the snow may be with just one week to go until Santa hits the skies, it’s a time where we are all going to have to be very careful out on the roads!

So what can we do to make sure we stay safe on the snow showered roads, and prevent any accidents form occurring?
Read More

Doctors are used to scrubbing up before surgery, but at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool they are being asked to scrub the wards as well!

Both medical staff and managers were asked to pitch in before a visit from the Care Quality Commission (or CQC). According to the BBC, the commission had previously criticised hygiene standards at the hospital when they visited in April of this year.

The hospital trust have stated that participation was on a voluntary basis however, Dr Jaswinder Bamrah of the British Medical Association has criticised the move as “not right” and many doctors felt under pressure to comply according to the trade union, Unison.
Read More

Further to my recent articles on drink driving, according to research drinking coffee in an attempt to sober yourself up from the effects of alcohol is a complete illusion, the BBC has reported (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8403088.stm).

Research on mice has indicated that the drink may make you feel like you are sobering up and coming to your senses, but in actual fact is an illusion. The issue here is that people using the drink in order to sober up and subsequently falling under the false influence that they are OK, are more than likely not. The risk therefore of a person getting in to a vehicle thinking they are OK when they are not and causing an accident increases.

The research results showed the mice to be more alert and awake, but still found to be incompetent when navigating a maze following mixed doses of alcohol and caffeine.

An 18 year old girl has tragically lost her life in a Go Karting accident, according to reports from Sky news (source) and the Mirror (source). 

It is believed that Susan Cornwall’s scarf came loose and got wrapped up the engine of the kart as she raced on the Cambridgeshire Raceway circuit in Caxton. The pull of the scarf is sadly believed to have choked her, with paramedics noting severe neck injuries as they attended her unconscious at the scene.

Cambridgeshire Raceway company secretary Phil Meakins has reportedly informed the Daily Mail that a track marshal had allowed Susan and a group of teenagers to use the circuit after hours. The marshal, named as Andy Kilvin, manually turned off CCTV cameras after hours when he was expected to have locked the premises up, and allowed his girlfriend and five other teenagers to use the site. The marshal has been removed from his position, and the company is considering taking legal action against him. Police and the local council have launched a joint investigation.
Read More

Government ministers have advised councils to reduce speed limits on roads which are accident black spots.

According to the BBC, the ministers want the national speed limit reduced from 60 to 50 miles per hour on selected roads in rural areas and they also are requesting a gradual move towards 20 mph in residential and school areas. The aim of these proposals is to reduce the number of deaths on Britain’s’ roads. Over the past 10 years the government set itself a target of cutting the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by road traffic accidents by 40 % by 2010. This target has already been reached but, with 32,000 deaths still having occurred as a result of accidents on roads, ministers feel more can be done.

The move will be unpopular with many motorists but safety experts state that deaths are not falling fast enough, partly because of poor driving.
Read More

The boss of a fireworks company has been found guilty of manslaughter following the deaths of two fire-fighters due to the dangerous storage of the explosive pyrotechnics, the BBC has reported (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8412747.stm).

Company owner Martin Winter, 52, was found to be grossly negligent in using the container which was prone to exploding should a fire break out. Martin has been convicted of manslaughter, and the jury are currently debating over his son Nathan Winter, 25, who could face the same conviction. Both have denied the charges brought against them.

The company itself, now named Alpha Fireworks Limited, has been found guilty of two counts of health and safety breaches with the prosecution team against Winter’s alleging he was well aware of the hazards in using the metal container for storage, and knew full well the company’s license did not authorise use of the container in question.
Read More

Can sleep walking be dangerous for us or anyone around us?

This was such the case for Christine Thomas when her husband killed her ‘during a dream’.

The couple had been together for 40 years and enjoyed a happy marriage. In July 2008 the couple decided to take a holiday in their motor home to Aberporth, Wales.

During the night Brian Thomas dreamt that intruders had broken in to their motor home and he was fighting them to get out. Earlier in the night a group of young individuals had come in to the car park screeching their breaks and tyres. Mr and Mrs Thomas moved their motor home to the lower car park in order to have some peace and quiet but during the night Mr Thomas experienced dreams that he was being attacked and as a result he killed his wife.
Read More

Dog bite claims can be particularly serious and happen more often than you would probably imagine.

If you are attacked by a dog that has not been appropriately controlled then you may be entitled to bring a compensation claim for the injuries you have sustained.

The owner of the dog has a duty of care to ensure that their dog does not cause harm to others around them.

Under the Animals Act 1971; strict liability in the law of tort (negligence) is applied if it is foreseeable that an animal can come to cause injury to another person, i.e. if the owner knows the vicious nature of their own pet.
Read More

“It was a miracle none of them was badly hurt or killed…” – this is the general consensus following the story of the bus roof that ripped off like the top of a tin can after trying to get under a low bridge, the Sun has reported (source).

The bus was full of young children, of which 17 age 9 to 10 year olds escaped with minor injuries and remarkably no one was seriously hurt. A witness has reportedly stated “it’s a good job they were only little kids – if they were taller it would have taken their heads off!”

It is reported there were 52 children and teachers on the bus in total, with 10 being taken to hospital and seven treated at the scene. Eye witnesses state there were children screaming, crying and some even bleeding.  The group were on a day trip to the New Walk Museum in Leicester when the accident occurred.
Read More

The AA has stated that half of the UK’s local authorities only have enough road salt for six days of freezing.

According to the BBC, last year’s heavy winter has severely depleted supplies and means that some councils are having to borrow from others. The AA stated that it had been advised that local councils have approximately 250,000 tonnes less road salt in stock than they had ten years ago.

Icy roads are a major cause of road traffic accidents during the winter months and it is vital that councils are able to grit roads to limits skidding vehicles and people losing control. Criticism has been put to the council that they should have larger quantities of salt in reserve or they risk being vulnerable to the kind of chaos that was experienced on roads last year.
Read More