Ladder Safety

I am short.  I try to convince people that I am tall but truthfully, I am short.  Between ladders and stepladders I should be an expert on ladder safety however, I am not.  Just this morning while decorating the office Christmas tree, I stood tiptoes on a chair leaning forward to reach the top of a 6-foot tree.  It was in the stand, which made it that much taller! 

I really needed the chair.

Since I was at work, I violated not only our safety rules but also common sense.  I know not to stand on a chair and not to stretch from that chair once I am standing on it.  At home, I admit I am even worse. I climb on countertops, ledges, and the back of the sofa and or the loveseat to reach the curtain rods.  My neighbors have seen me move the truck closer to a tree and put a ladder in the truck bed to hang the summer swings.  This is the part where we all learn about ladders and practice what we learn. 

How Do I Avoid Hazards?

• Position portable ladders so the side rails extend at least 3 feet above the landing.
• Secure side rails at the top to a rigid support and use a grab device when 3 foot extension is not possible.
• Make sure that the weight on the ladder will not cause it to slip off its support.
• Before each use, inspect ladders for cracked or broken parts such as rungs, steps, side rails, feet and locking components.
• Do not apply more weight on the ladder than it is designed to support [For additional information, see Ladder Safety].
• Use only ladders that comply with OSHA design
  standards [29 CFR 1926.1053(a)(1)].

The ladder also comes with recommendations for serviceability, a fancy word meaning for its intended use.  In our legal world, it just means that ladders should not be used inside a truck bed.  If you do use it inside a truck bed, you void the serviceability of the product.   In other words, you are accepting the dangers of the misuse of the product.  If you get hurt and want to sue, misuse is a legal defense; you did not use the product as it was intended and therefore you got hurt.

To avoid injury and voiding the warranty of serviceability, follow the ladder safety rules.  For a short person it is easier said than done.  A chair is usually handy, I can climb on the countertop to reach a shelf, and I can figure a way to “rig” something to reach the unreachable.  However, I am all about safety.  I guess it is time to practice what I preach and follow the rules.  Hope you do too.

Rental Car Insurance Coverage: To Purchase or Not to Purchase

Thanksgiving and until New Years are the most heavily traveled times.  During the holidays,  families come together to celebrate.  If you are traveling by train or plane at the end of your destination, you may need to rent a car.  When you come to signing the papers at the rental desk do you purchase the physical damage or not?

When I travel and rent a car, I buy the physical damage for the rental vehicle.  I have since my first grown up trip when I went to Florida to visit my father.  My father lived on a sand road not an actual road and I was afraid that I would not be able to control the car in the sand.  I tend to drive with have a heavy foot.   I was concerned that I would have an accident and would have to pay for the car.  I did not know that my auto insurance would extend to the rental car. 

Years later, I have my insurance license and am thankful I was so uninformed that I purchased the physical damage for the rental car.  I now know that I would have been responsible for the down time of the rental not to mention any other fees the rental car outlines in their contract.  Some credit cards offer the physical damage but they will not pay for the “loss of use” of the rental car.  Yes,  auto insurance would pay for repair of the car if I was in an accident but until they can replace the car, they would lose money until it was back in operation.  Auto insurance would not and does not pay for down time of a rental car.  If the car has a flat or “blows” a gasket while in my possession, I would be responsible for that and auto insurance does not pay for plain old maintenance or mechanical breakdown. 

When I rented a car in Florida, I came out of the hotel room in the morning, found a flat tire, I called the rental car, they came, picked up that car and gave me another.  The next morning I came out of the hotel room and found a crack across the windshield making it unsafe to drive.  I called the rental company again; they picked up the car and delivered another to me.  Thankfully, I did not have any more car troubles that trip.  There were no extra charges on my credit card and no forms to complete since I had purchased the physical damage coverage. 

Twice I did not purchase the physical damage from the rental car company on trips out west.  Every time I got behind the wheel, I worried. “Don’t hit me.” “Don’t have an accident.” “Don’t have a flat.”  I learned very quickly to buy the physical damage coverage from the rental car company for peace of mind.  It is not a coincident that DGK’s motto is peace of mind. 

I am fully aware how much the coverage cost.  It can be more than the car rental price.  When I travel and need to abide strictly to my budget, I include the insurance as part of my travel budget.  I am not happy about it at all.  I would love to see the largest ice cream cone or the world largest cotton candy.  As an adult, I have to choose and I choose peace of mind. 

If you are traveling I wish for you a save journey and peace of mind. 

For more information please read the Trusted Choice article.  The link can be found on DGK’s facebook.  DGK's Facebook - Sign in & Like us.

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth."

At six years of age, I trick- treated for UNICEF, asking not for candy but for money.  I was told I would be helping children less fortunate than me.  I remember going door to door, some people gave money some said no and closed the door in my face.  At six I was not rejected I just skipped to the next door.   And so it began, my life-long affair with volunteering.   

I enjoy volunteering.  There are so many opportunities in our community and beyond.  You can donate (volunteer) money, clothing, books and other items.  You can donate (volunteer) your time or expertise.  The organizations range from Habitat for Humanity to soup kitchens, from Ronald McDonald house to the Humane Society, and the list continues. 

Fortunately, DGK believes in volunteering as much as I do.  Each employee is given a community day to volunteer their time during the workweek when so many organizations are short handed.  My

co-workers are active in parent organizations, their house of worship, libraries, civic organizations, charities, fundraisers for scholarships and local communities.  One of the women heads a mission trip to Haiti.  Others are board members or officers of their organizations.  I know I missed someone’s group and I am sorry. 

My mother taught me to volunteer.  It started with UNICEF but it continued with cutting food at Christmas dinners for physically and mentally challenged people, helping the jeweler at the end of the block to care for his lawn; he was in a wheelchair, picking up trash in the park and the list continues.  I in turned taught my daughters to volunteer.  From packing food in bags for the Christmas food drive, collecting books for children in other countries, assisting in giving out food at the food pantry, every year before Christmas my children would go through their toys to donate to children that did not have such an abundance of toys, and their list continues.  I wanted to teach my children, at a young age, that if you do not have money to give you give your time or even some treasured items to someone who has less than you.  I hope they continue the giving legacy with their children. 

This is the time of year, when we notice that so many have so little.  Placing a food item in the

“Feed a Friend” barrel in the grocery store can help those with the holidays.  It is a little gift to someone else that you do not know with no expectation of a thank you.  Many areas look for volunteers around the holidays.  If you are new to volunteering, it may feel unusual to give.  Once you do, you get hooked!

If you are looking to get involved, the Red Cross has a program for our U.S. Armed Forces, veterans and their families.  The Holiday Mail for Heroes program is a joint effort with Pitney Bowes.  Below is the website that has all the details.  In the privacy and comfort of your home, you can make someone’s holiday special.  If that is not the volunteer experience you are looking for just give me a call, the list continues. 

http://www.pb.com/holidaymail/index.shtml

ps not sure why the format does not stay in place after the post is up but I am sorry if the spaces annoy you.

 

New Rules for PA Teen Drivers

I have my driver’s license since I was 16 years old.  I took driver’s training in school and had on the road driving with the instructor in the car.  Things have changed since then.  I paid for the driver’s training class for my daughters.  My mother did not have to pay for my class it was part of the curriculum.  I would like to say that this is the difference in teen accidents but the truth is one month after I had my license I was in a car accident.  That makes me a teen driver statistic.

The new AAA study reveals that teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are after a full year of experience driving on their own, and are nearly twice as likely to suffer a crash as they are after two full years of experience.  Researchers analyzed crashes of first-month teen drivers in North Carolina and found three common mistakes—failure to reduce speed, inattention and failure to yield—account for 57 percent of all crashes.

In accordance with several new studies, Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law new safeguards for teenage drivers.

The bill, known as "Lacey's Law"  sponsored by Rep. Kathy Watson, a Bucks County Republican, had a constituent family lose their daughter, Lacey Gallagher, in an April 2007 crash where she was one of six teens riding in an SUV.  None wore seat belts.

·         For six months, teens without a parent in the vehicle are allowed one friend or similar person under 18, who is not a member of their household, as a passenger. If they have not caused an accident after six months, the teen driver could carry three such passengers while holding their junior license.

·         It makes failure to wear seat belts a primary offense, so police can stop drivers under age 18 if they or their passengers are not wearing seat belts. Violations carry a $75 fine.

·         The law also requires teens with learner's permits to have 65 hours of driving experience to get a junior license, up from 50 hours. Teens can get a junior license starting at age 16. There is also a new requirement of five hours of bad-weather driving and 10 hours of night driving.

“Teen drivers out there may feel that they are being singled out by this bill and, the fact is, they are. Each of our children, like Lacey Gallagher, represents our future, our hopes and our dreams. We are not ready to give them up to a needless accident and we support this bill because we care so much for them,” said Tom Corbett.

Would the new law have kept me from being a statistic? I was alone in the car, I had my seat belt on and it was broad day light.  However, the new law requires 65 hours of driving experience and that would have been a plus.  Old school, we applied for our permit & received it three months before we were sixteen and were taking our drivers test exactly 30 days after we turned sixteen.  Lacey’s Law would have required I had driving time behind the wheel for much needed practice; my mother would have required it was with the driver’s ed instructor.  THAT would have helped me avoid being a teen statistic!