How safety conscious are you?

I grew up in an age, and a different country, where heath and safety didn't exist. Common sense was a big thing and there was no such thing as compensation claims. And it stands me in good stead today, always aware of my surroundings, hazards, etc. But I will make sure I know my nearest exits in any place. Yes, it helped one evening when a hotel smoke alarm went off and we joined other guests in various states of dress.

DH works with lots of Americans so -unfortunately- he tells me to be "careful about" this/that, "watch your step", etc, forgetting my former upbringing environment . But I understand where he is coming from. But now and then, if it gets under my skin, I tell him I am AWARE and -that I am not thick-.

The most terrifying moment - was finding my four-year-old granddaughter had rapidly undone the safety catch on a window - five stories high. There she was, half hanging out, looking down - as I crept up to grab her.

We were viewing a flat for my daughter. It was a new building and everything had been checked, all complied with current building regulations. So, we're left with a situation where a child could die, any day.

We were on a ferry years ago travelling between the Greek islands when my husband pointed out that the bolts securing the life boats on deck had been painted over so it would have been impossible to undo those bolts in an emergency.

I'm not a lover of deep water despite being able to swim, and I couldn't wait to reach dry land.

I was on Kangaroo island off the South Australian coast when we had to evacuate our hotel because of smoke. They banged on all the rooms and told us to get out. It was late evening and quite funny with most of us in PJs. A lot of chat and camaraderie. After about an hour we all went back to our rooms and we never were told what happened. Probably a smoker in a room had caught the bedding alight or something like that.

Oreo

Foxygloves

I am reminded of an episode of “Outnumbered “ where Karen berated her family for not knowing where their “Fire safety assembly point” was at home!

😂I loved that show.

I usually read about fire exits in hotel rooms, tho it’s been a while since we stayed in one.
I don’t worry unduly about safety generally, bar never walking alone down dark alleys or basic safety stuff.

Remember the one abut safety at airports and her questions about terrorists? Priceless.

Yes I read all the escape instructions.In hotels, aeroplans, large meetings, even above the hot tap above the sink in public loos though I know what it will say
We have planned routes in case of fire, keys are always in the same bowl.Specs a torch and tablets for a week in a small make-up bag on the bedside table wherever we are. A set of clothes beside the bed,that's a hang up from Student days and fire alarms.
Panhandles turned towards the counter, knife blades down in the dishwasher. Nothing eaten that is dropped.
I was well drilled by my father who had been in the Navy during WW2 and eventually had job involving a lot safety.
Mt sername has always started with an S and am laughingly called Safety S......at home.

I am very safety conscious :

I couldn't enjoy my lunch the other day because an aunt was allowing her nephew to play with the door at my friend's cafe .

He was at risk - from trapping his fingers or going out into the street whilst his aunt was glued to the phone .

One of the waitresses and I watched him continually for about forty minutes .
And despite wearing expensive clothes and driving a luxury car she complained about the bill !

Foxygloves

I am reminded of an episode of “Outnumbered “ where Karen berated her family for not knowing where their “Fire safety assembly point” was at home!

😂I loved that show.

I usually read about fire exits in hotel rooms, tho it’s been a while since we stayed in one.
I don’t worry unduly about safety generally, bar never walking alone down dark alleys or basic safety stuff.

I was on a course in Lyons, when the fire alarm went off during the night.

My colleague and I, as teachers, were very aware of safety procedures, having had weekly drills in school and sessions with health and safety officers and fire officers on how to use extinguishers.

We raced out of our rooms to find a crowd of Japanese tourists waiting for the lifts to take them down four floors.
We went into teacher mode and were shouting at them not to use the lifts, but the stairs, they hadn't a clue and looked at us, as if we were mad.

It turned out the chef had burned the breakfast croissants.

I've been in a house fire so I'm careful to read about escape routes in hotels etc. The smoke is terrible.

25Avalon Definitely a wise Dad! We just get out of the way, too, and let them get on with it. We have a saying when we're driving and people are doing crazy things around us. We used to say 'Gosh he must be a Very Important Person, got places he's got to get to'. Over the years it's changed to 'He's a bit of a VIP' meaning a Very Irritating Plonker (am I allowed to say that on GN???)

We should have been on the Herald of Free Enterprise.
Ever since then I know exactly where I am on a ship, hotel.
On a flight I count the seats from mine to the emergency exit.

25Avalon

When a lunatic driver roared up behind us my dad would say “pull over and let them go.” Very good advice which I practice even to this day. The other advice on driving was to slow up for a bend and drive out of it when you can see the road is clear. On twisty roads I hear his voice in my head telling me that.

Wise dad, I think.

When I was at school, our headmaster - trying to make sure we all kept safe at weekends when we were allowed out on our bikes, told us to imagine that everyone else on the road was a lunatic.

We of course laughed and thought his was hugely amusing. Turns out, we didn't need to imagine it after all...

welbeck

Dickens, not so rare unfortunately.
same tragic thing happened to a lady vicar some years ago, in front of her friend whom she had just had to lunch.

Oh, that is awful to read.

The poor woman - and the lady vicar who no doubt will feel guilty for the remainder of her life.

We don't have small children running around anymore - nor many visitors, come to that, but 'instinct' makes me put the knives blade down in the dishwasher. I understand that they (knives) are supposed to be easier to clean if they are blade up, but, we have a plastic container filled with soapy water on the sink surround in which all cutlery goes for a few hours prior to being put in the dishwasher - that loosens any food particles and the knives clean thoroughly blade down.

I would hate to think this is an accident waiting to heppen in anyone else's home.

I always read safety notices and listen to safety announcements, then I relax and enjoy myself.

Many, many years ago I worked on the first floor of an office block which had a night club in the basement. One day, when I was off sick, some gangland rival tried to firebomb the club. If the bomb had gone off as planned it could have killed me, more importantly, the external fire exit door was blocked by waste paper awaiting collection and this did catch fire, which meant the internal fire escape could not be used.

I now suss out all complex buildings, hotels etc for escape routes. It is now so instinctive. i do not notice myself doing it. I have sussed out my home as well.

I always check exit stairways and fire information in hotels.
I always leave my slip on shoes at the end of the bed, facing the doorway: I can't imagine it's easy to exit in bare feet.
Torch and phone on the bedside table.

When a lunatic driver roared up behind us my dad would say “pull over and let them go.” Very good advice which I practice even to this day. The other advice on driving was to slow up for a bend and drive out of it when you can see the road is clear. On twisty roads I hear his voice in my head telling me that.

For me, the most worrying 'safety' aspect in life is - other drivers.

You're not alone. I've seen some very scary driving since lock down. People have got so impatient now. Three times now when we have been turning right off a big roundabout someone has sped up to pass us on our left to over take us on the roundabout and get to our exit before us. Plus so many drivers seem incapable of driving on their side of the road, especially where the road curves and they take a racing line. We have to take a right hand turn off a dual carriageway to get home, and the cars coming from the opposite direction nearly all cut across the right hand turn lane, making it almost impossible for us to use it.

I always localise emergency exits and where fire extinguishers and first aid box are kept in any building I work or sleep in.

Likewise always find out where lifevests and belts are on any ship or boat I get into.

We have smoke alarms on both floors of our house and a fire extinguisher between our bedroom and the stairs , one in the kitchen and one in the workshop.

The entire house was re-wired professionally in 2016 and the fuse box and breakers replaced with the newest types. Freezer, fridge, hob and oven have seperate circuits, as does the workshop.

I always wear my bike helmet, even if only cycling a very short distance and check my bike brakes on the way out of our driveway.

I even put it on yesterday before going out into the garden in the howling gale we had here to fetch a young cat that I rightly guessed was too scared to come out into the open from under the hedge to get back to the house.

When I finish ironing, I unplug the iron from the wall socket immediately.

Foxygloves

Sounds as if it’s the sleeping pill which is the risk factor.
How would you legislate against that?
(Although frankly if my plane was about to crash into the sea I’d rather be asleep than screaming in panic! )
Is there not already too much “legislation” and “ what iffery” and not enough common sense?

From the Journal of Travel Medicine:

''Disruptive passenger behavior is just one of several public health issues that may be related to airline passengers' use of alcohol. Many people drive home from airports after deplaning. Almost half of all rental car revenue in the United States is generated at airports, 12 yet we have no data on the proportion of those leaving airports who are intoxicated. In one civil lawsuit that was brought against an airline for overserving a passenger who went on to drive while intoxicated, the plaintiff's private investigator was reportedly served 12 drinks while sitting in the first class cabin for a 90‐minute flight.13 In New Mexico, authorities halted alcohol sales on two airlines after a recently deplaned passenger caused a crash that killed a family of five.14 His blood alcohol level was four times the state's legal limit, and witnesses reported that he had been served alcohol in‐flight despite appearing intoxicated.

Another potential concern is a passenger's ability to evacuate a commercial aircraft in the event of an emergency. In one report of a runway collision that resulted in a fire, 76% of the passengers in a Boeing 737 were able to escape to safety. Among the fatalities was a first class passenger with a blood alcohol level of 0.24%, who had not even unfastened his seat belt.2 This issue is particularly relevant for people sitting in the overwing exit row, who assume responsibility for operating that hatch when they agree to sit in those seats. This task has been documented as challenging from both physical and cognitive perspectives.''

I check in hotels.
Train stations around here are too small to have them.

In our last house, when the girls were younger and DH worked away, we had a definite plan for escaping the house in the event of a fire.
This house isn’t as easy as the windows upstairs are at chest height, but I live here alone now.
Having known flight attendants, at 36000feet, all the safety drills are useless! I’m with Foxy on that one! In fact, I’d probably need a drink! As DD2 is disabled, she is always a window seat, so she can’t impede other passengers in the stampede to escape. On a flight to New York a few years ago, she had an emergency landing on a little used runway. The chutes were deployed, but she had to sit there, until it was decided it was a false alarm - the wheels hadn’t been registering as down and locked. We laughed when it was announced that counsellors would be available to talk through our trauma. To round it off, our taxi crashed on the way into Manhattan.

Always check emergency exits in hotels, and keep a grab bag with meds, phone/charger and copies of documents beside bed.

Our children knew the fire drill at home from an early age.

We once kept a fire resistant folding ladder on the top floor of a town house we lived in

In the family home, I did go through best exit routes as soon as the children were old enough

It is always best to keep doors closed at night, to contain fires, the alarms will give early warning

I would check the fire exit route in an unfamiliar hotel just in case. The next two hotels we have booked for have patio doors on the ground floor so no problem there.
I always keep my keys in all the locks of exits from our house have no intention of having to pick up the keys in what may be a smoke full location Apart from that if those in the patio and back doors were taken out they would probably go missing.