Make Safety Your New Year's Resolution

Whether it’s for slimming down or saving up, making right with long-lost friends or doing more with leftover time, Americans use the annual occasion to become better versions of their best selves. Losing weight and improving finances are among the more common personal pledges that people make, but if you’re aiming to improve both your own life as well as others’, you might consider a slightly more unusual resolution - safety.

No one wakes up in the morning thinking, “Today is the day that I throw caution to the wind.” But you wouldn’t know it based on how many accidents occur on the roads. In 2014 - the latest year for which data is available - nearly 32,700 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents across the country, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And that doesn’t include the tens of thousands that weren’t deadly.

Behavior leading cause of highway accidents
Of course, collisions on the roadways are rarely intentional, but in the vast majority of instances, car crashes result from driver behavior, including speeding, inattention at the wheel, operating under the influence of alcohol and a host of other poor choices.

NHTSA is devoting more resources to encourage drivers to make responsible decisions.

“Behavioral safety programs are the heart of NHTSA’s safety mission,” said Mark Rosekind, NHTSA administrator. “While great public attention is focused on safety defects and recalls, and rightfully so, it is time as a nation to reinvigorate the fight against drunk and drugged driving, distraction and other risks that kill thousands every year.”

He added that local and state legislators also need to make an assessment that better establishes whether the behavioral programs in the works are paying off.

Home heating major source of residential fires
Even in the comfort of home, failure to heed to basic safety protocols can lead to some very damaging results. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the kitchen is the main source of residential fires, often occurring when burners are left on or unattended. In a close second behind cooking is heating. In fact, approximately half of all home heating fires occur in the months of December, January and February.

Alexandra Furr, NFPA’s director of national fire programs, noted that safety starts with prevention and detection.

“Since we know the winter months provide more opportunities for home fires, it is even more important for your family to make sure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home, and inside and outside sleeping areas,” Furr explained. “If you don’t have a family fire escape plan, take a few minutes to make one and then practice it.”

She added that the best present families can give to their loved ones are the type that can’t be wrapped in a box - the gift of safety.

In the true spirit of New Year’s resolution season, don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today. Make safety your 2016 commitment.

Being a safe consumer warrants smart decisions, and none is more responsible than securing the proper homeowners, and/or auto insurance policies. For more information on coverage, visit The Insurance Centers site. Or contact Zita Santos-Martinez at 732-832-4132.

Photo and article courtesy of Selective Insurance Group, Inc.