Category Archives: Safety Tips

Circuit Breaker Model is Defective and Potentially Dangerous

Written On August 27, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Here is a very short summary of a very important article from the Dallas Morning News. If you live in an older home in North Texas you need to check your circuit breaker box to make sure it’s not a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok model. I checked ours, and we’re safe, but if you do have [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Embrace Life — Always Wear Your Seatbelt

Written On February 4, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Posted in Safety Tips, Vehicle Law or News

Tips to Keep Kids Safe Online

Written On February 3, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Keep computers in a common area of the home so you can monitor your child’s online activities.
Encourage your child to use nicknames rather than his or her real name when online.
Tell you child to be careful when posing for pic- tures or videos.
Remind your children that anything they post can be viewed by potentially millions [...]

Posted in Computer Tips, Tricks, and Tools, Safety Tips

Lawn Sprinklers and Cold Weather Create Road Hazards in Dallas

Written On January 8, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Dallas is going through the coldest weather in a decade, and we’re not handling it very well. Fortunately we’ve only had a little precipitation, which did cause some problems Thursday morning, but didn’t shut down the city as ice storms usually do. We’re not going to get above freezing for a couple of days though, [...]

Posted in Safety Tips, Vehicle Law or News

Things Your Burglar Won’t Tell You

Written On January 6, 2010 By Bob Kraft

These burglary-prevention tips came to our crimewatch group through the Dallas Police Department.
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Who Was Supposed To Be Watching Grandma?

Written On December 21, 2009 By Bob Kraft

There is a popular tune played this time of year called “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer” which relates that Grandma — after drinking too much eggnog — went out into the winter cold to get her medication and was run over by a reindeer. The question is, “Who was supposed to be watching [...]

Posted in Safety Tips

Energy-Efficient Traffic Lights Can’t Melt Snow

Written On December 18, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Fortunately, those of us in Dallas don’t have to worry much about this problem reported by the Associated Press. Apparently in some northern cities drivers have discovered that new energy-efficient traffic lights with LED bulbs don’t burn hot enough to melt snow that accumulates around them. As a result, the lights become obscured, drivers can’t [...]

Posted in Safety Tips, Vehicle Law or News

Halloween Safety Tips

Written On October 26, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As Halloween approaches, I’m updating my Halloween Safety Tips article. Most of this is just common sense, but at Halloween, some of us seem to lose our a bit of our common sense and we do foolish (as well as ghoulish) things.
Halloween can be a very enjoyable time for kids and adults if “trick-or-treating” is [...]

Posted in Safety Tips

Toyota Seeks Solution to Floor Mat Issue

Written On October 1, 2009 By Bob Kraft

I’ve been writing here about the recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles due to floor mat safety issues. Now we learn fro the Wheels blog in the New York Times that Toyota is not planning to redesign the floor mats themselves, but is looking for a solution for those drivers who do have the accelerator [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips, Vehicle Law or News

Swimming Pool Safety Tips For Children

Written On August 10, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Sadly, the number of child drowning deaths in Texas reached 84 in early August of 2009, passing the previous record of 82 set in 2008. We all need to take better care of our kids when they’re near water — whether it’s a swimming pool at your own house, or a lake or ocean. Here [...]

Posted in Safety Tips

Loose Headstones May Pose Extreme Risk

Written On December 22, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Gruesome death of toddler, and warning of other deaths or injuries, as reported in the news release of the American Association for Justice:
The Houston Chronicle (12/19, Flood) reported, "The parents of a two-year-old boy who was crushed to death by a headstone at a funeral last week have filed a lawsuit against the Pearland cemetery," [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Five Safe Driving Tips for Winter

Written On December 16, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Heading into winter, the roads become a more dangerous place for drivers, no matter how safe your car is. In order to limit your risk, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure you’re prepared for the onset of snow, sleet and ice on the roads:
•    Consider Investing in Snow TiresIf [...]

Posted in Safety Tips, Vehicle Law or News

Annual List Of 10 Worst Toys – Help Prevent Childhood Injuries

Written On December 6, 2008 By Bob Kraft

If you haven’t done your holiday shopping for the little kids on your list (actually, even if you have done your shopping), take a look at the annual "10 Worst Toys" list by the consumer group W.A.TC.H. Click the link to see photos and warnings of the toys. Here’s some info from W.A.T.C.H.:
W.A.T.C.H.’s annual "10 [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Keeping Kids Safe During The Holidays

Written On November 25, 2008 By Bob Kraft

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the
subject of nursing assistant exams. She invites your feedback at
kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com.


The holiday season is upon us and many people are making their gift lists and hitting stores to find the best deals on the hottest toys for the children in their lives. [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Texas Cheerleading Accidents May Fly Under The Radar

Written On September 5, 2008 By Bob Kraft

I’ve written before about the dangers of cheerleading in high schools. It’s the leading cause of sports injuries to young girls. Now the Dallas Morning News has a new story about this. The article is lengthy and well-written. I recommend it to parents of high school kids. Here are excerpts:
Texas could be leading the country [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Simplicity Bassinets Cause Two Infant Deaths

Written On September 3, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning regarding the use of Simplicity bassinets, which have caused the deaths of two infants, but are not being recalled by the manufacturer. Here is the text of the press release:
Infants
Strangled to Death in Simplicity Bassinets: CPSC Urges Consumers To
Stop Using Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible “Close-Sleeper”
Models
WASHINGTON,
D.C. [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Safety Tips

Parents, Consider The Dangers Of Cheerleading

Written On August 14, 2008 By Bob Kraft

A story in the Dallas Morning News about the dangers of high school cheerleading certainly surprised me, and I imagine that many other parents will be equally surprised and dismayed. The article shows that cheerleading accounted for two-thirds of sports-related deaths or serious injuries
to high school girls over the past 25 years, according to a [...]

Posted in Safety Tips

Yet Another Texas Child Left Inside Hot Car Dies

Written On July 28, 2008 By Bob Kraft

Another North Texas infant has died after being left in a hot car yesterday. This is so terribly tragic, so utterly predictable, and so completely preventable. It’s summer in Texas, people. It gets hot. Yesterday was about 105 degrees. That’s in the shade. The interior of a car in the sun will be much, much [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips

Featured Link – My Safe Home

Written On July 2, 2008 By Bob Kraft

The Home Safety Council has a great section of their Web site on safety tips around the house. Everyone should see this, especially people with small children or elderly parents in the home.

Posted in Consumer Information, Featured Link, Safety Tips

Lightning Safety Tips

Written On June 24, 2008 By Bob Kraft

This is Lightning Safety Week in the United States. Here are a few tips on lightning safety from the National Weather Service Web site:
In the United States, there are an estimated 25 million lightning flashes each year. During the past 30 years, lightning killed an average of 62 people per year. This ties the [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Safety Tips