Car accidents

Car accidents are unintentional damaging events involving automobiles. Car accidents can damage one or more autos, people, or structures. Car accidents—also called traffic accidents, auto accidents, road accidents, road traffic accidents (RTA in many police forces' terminology) and motor vehicle accidents—cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of disabilities each year.
Worldwide, car accidents kill an estimated one million people each year (a 2002 statistic).

Table of contents

1 First Fatality 2 Terminology issues 3 Trends in accident statistics 4 Types of accidents 5 Legal consequences 6 Rubbernecking 7 Accident prevention

First Fatality

The first fatality in a steam driven vehicle may have been Mary Ward who on 31 August 1869 fell under a steam driven car [1].
In the UK the first person to die in a petrol driven car accident was a pedestrian, Bridget Driscoll in 1896. The first driver/passenger deaths occurred on 25 February 1899. A 6 HP Daimler, driven by a 31-year-old engineer named Edwin Sewell, crashed on Grove Hill, a steeply-graded road on the northern slope of Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, now in north-west London. A rear wheel collapsed after breaking its rim and the car hit a sturdy brick wall. Sewell was killed immediately when he and his passenger, a Major Richer, were thrown from the vehicle. Richer died 3 days later in hospital. The spot is now marked with a commemorative plaque.

Terminology issues

There's a debate about the use of the word accident in the context of motor-vehicle incidents. Incidents often result from carelessness or deliberate dangerous driving, rather than from circumstances beyond the control of one or more participants. Some road traffic safety authorities have started using alternative expressions such as car crashes, car wrecks, collisions or incidents in an attempt to educate drivers and emphasise that many incidents are entirely avoidable; for example, the official UK statistics which were known as Road Accidents Great Britain (RAGB) are now known as Road Casualties Great Britain. Further, in some areas (e.g. Victoria, Australia), authorities are considering counting single-vehicle single-occupant road traffic crash fatalities in that state's suicide statistics as well as in road toll statistics.
It is thought that as many as nine out of ten injury collisions are the result of driver negligence.

Trends in accident statistics

Road toll figures show that car accident fatalities have declined since 1980, with most countries showing a reduction of roughly 50%. This drop appears to confirm the efficacy of safety measures introduced thereafter, assuming that driver behaviour has not changed significantly. In the United States, fatalities have increased slighty from 40,716 in 1994 to 42,643 in 2003.
Some expected greater improvements. Several explanations have been proposed:

• The number of cars is increasing, leading to more congested traffic. This argument is disputed—for example, the road toll in Australia is only about half that of the UK, despite the latter country's more than threefold size of population in an area 1/30th of the size.
• A safer car increases the perceived safety level, inducing the driver to go at higher speeds—in fact there is strong evidence to suggest that every safety advantage conferred by technology is eroded by modified driver behaviour.
• Some types of cars may be inherently less safe (see for example SUV)
• More in-car tech toys exist today. These can distract the driver from the road. These include: cell phones, TVs, pagers, portable CD and DVD players, laptop computers, electronic games, computer games, GPS navigators, camcorders, radar detectors, and others.

Whatever the reason, it has been noted that road fatality trends closely follow the so-called "Smeed law" (after RJ Smeed its author), an empirical rule relating injury rates to the inverse square of car ownership levels. The road safety establishment is dismissive of this, preferring to claim the credit for lives saved. An analysis by prof. John Adams can be found [here (http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/~jadams/PDFs/smeed%27s%20law.pdf)].

Types of accidents

Car accidents fall into several major categories (whose names are self-explanatory):

• Rear-end collisions
• Side collisions
• Rollovers
• Head-on collisions
• Single-car accidents
• Suicide
• Pile-ups
• Level crossing accidents
• RailRoad crossing accidents
• Collisions can occur with other automobiles, other vehicles such as bicycles or trucks, with pedestrians, and with stationary structures or objects, such as trees or road signs.

The result of a side collision; most cars are not as structurally sound side-to-side as they are front-to-back and damage can be more severe to the vehicle and the occupant than at the same speed in a rear-end collision.In a collision between two cars, the occupants of a car with the lower mass will likely suffer the greater consequences. See: crash incompatibility.

Legal consequences

Car accidents often carry legal consequences in proportion to the severity of the accident. Nearly all common law jurisdictions impose some kind of requirement that parties involved in a collision (even with only stationary property) must stop at the scene, and exchange insurance or identification information or summon the police. Failing to obey this requirement is the crime of hit and run. Most car accidents can be settled without using an attorney.
Parties involved in an accident may face criminal liability, civil liability, or both. Usually, the state starts a prosecution only if someone is severely injured or killed, or if one of the drivers involved was clearly intoxicated or otherwise impaired at the time the accident occurred. Charges might include driving under the influence of alcohol, assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, or murder; penalties range from fines to jail time to prison time to death.
As for civil liability, automobile accident personal injury lawsuits have become the most common type of tort. Because these cases have been litigated often in the developed First World nations, the legal questions usually have been answered in prior judgments. So, the courts most usually decide solely the factual questions of who is at fault, and how much they (or their insurer) must pay out in damages to the injured plaintiff.
Another element of civil liability involves the administrative fines or license suspension/revocation that may be imposed by a civil authority when a driver has violated the rules of the road and thus the terms of a driver's license. Such complaint may be filed by a police officer or sometimes by other witnesses of an incident.

Rubbernecking

Rubbernecking is where drivers slow down to look at accidents or anything out of the ordinary on the highway. Events ranging from gruesome car accidents to a police car stopped on the shoulder can cause traffic jams on both sides of the road, even if the roadway has been cleared.
Although caution is advised when there is unexpected activity on the side of a road, a car with a flat tire on the side of a highway often causes as much slow down as a real accident would due to rubbernecking. The slowdown in traffic persists even after the accident scene has been cleared if traffic is dense. Traffic experts call this phenomenon a phantom accident. Often this behavior causes additional and sometimes more serious accidents among the rubberneckers.

Accident prevention

Although many accidents are caused by behavior that is difficult to alter, by mechanical failure, or by road conditions, some technical solutions are becoming more widely available to prevent accidents:

• Proximity monitors: These would automatically detect how close you were traveling to the car in front of you and automatically adjust your car's acceleration to prevent you from getting closer than you can safely stop at your current speed.
• Sobriety detectors: These locks prevent the ignition key from working if the driver breathes into one and is shown to have consumed alcohol.
• Drifting monitors: These devices monitor how close a vehicle is traveling to lane markers and, if it starts to drift toward or over the markers without the turn signal being activated, sounds an alarm.

In most developed countries, young (under 25 years old) male drivers have been shown to be by far the most likely to be involved in a car accident, and this has become an area of focus in recent times. Reasons suggested for this prevalence include inexperience combined with over-confidence, peer pressure, showing off, and even neurological development arguments. In addition most serious accidents occur at night and when the car has multiple occupants. This has led to some discussion of the following proposals:

• A "curfew" imposed on young drivers to prevent them driving at night.
• Requiring an experienced supervisor to chaperone the less experienced driver.
• Forbidding the carrying of passengers.
• Zero alcohol tolerance.
• Compulsory advanced driving courses.
• Requiring a sign placed on the back of the vehicle to notify other drivers of a less-experienced individual in the driver's seat.

Some countries or states have already implemented some of these, but so far no consensus to a total solution has been reached. It should be noted that this prevalence has long been noted by insurance companies, and premiums reflect that; however, very high premiums for young male drivers does not seem to have had a significant impact on the accident statistics, suggesting that these drivers simply accept the high premiums as part of the "on road" costs of mobility.
Several books are available to help consumers settle an auto accident claim without using a lawyer. Including Car accident secrets by DS Publications and How to Win you Personal Injury Claim by Joseph Matthews. There are also books on personal recovery like A Practical Recover Manual by Jack Smith. These selection of books aid people who have been involved in car accidents and are looking for help without paying alot of money.

Firework injury

Burns are the most common type of firework injury comprising 59% of the total injuries in a 1987 study. The degree and level of contamination of this type of burn are all too frequently underestimated. The likely presence of tetanus spores in the paper or cardboard of the exploding device necessitates a course of systematic antibiotic (penicillin). Gunpowder residue, cardboard fibers, and ash are often tattooed into the burned area and makes these injuries likely candidates for surgical debridement and treatment. Appropriate follow-up of these patients is recommended to prevent possible burn contractures, infections, etc.
Sparklers may seem to be a safe form of patriotic celebration, but statistics show that sparklers accounted for the greatest number of injuries (36%) in the 1986 MCHD study. The greatest majority of these injuries are burns occurring to hand, leg, and facial area. Firecrackers were the second most common cause of injury, comprising 27 percent of total injuries.
The majority of fireworks-related injuries occur around the July 4th holiday, but it is not uncommon to see these injuries throughout the month of July and on Flag Day, Veteran's Day, New Year's Eve, etc. Although few in number, these injuries represent an additional type of trauma to the hand that receives little public attention.
Injuries to the fingers and hand were the most frequently reported injury in the 1986 study comprising 64% of all the fireworks injuries. These injuries most often will occur while attempting to light the fuse of the explosive device. The non dominant hand (usually holding the device) is most likely to be injured, and the dominant hand (usually holding the match, lighter, etc.) is most likely to be spared from severe injury. Injured patients often report that the fuse simply burned too quickly and ignited the device before the firework could be released or thrown.

Important Facts About Fireworks Eye Safety

Physicians at the Eye Institute offer these tips and facts to help keep you and your family safe during this Fourth of July holiday:

• Attend only professional fireworks displays. Don’t ever let your children play with fireworks of any kind.
• Fireworks were responsible for 19 deaths in the first 10 months of 1999.
• Fireworks sent 6,300 people to the emergency room during the 1999 Fourth of July holiday period (June 23 to July 23).
• All fireworks are dangerous. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, sparklers and Roman candles account for most firework injuries.
• Protect children. Don’t entertain the family with fireworks. Forty percent of those injured last year were under the age of 14, and many of them were bystanders.
• 30% of the injuries that occurred last year involved burns to hands, wrists and arms, and 20% of injuries were to the eyes.
• 10% of children injured by fireworks suffer permanent damage, such as the loss of an eye, a finger or a hand.
• Sparklers burn as hot as 2,000 degrees, hot enough to melt gold. For children under the age of five, sparklers account for three-quarters of all fireworks injuries.
• Legal fireworks carry the name of the manufacturer, the words “Class C Common Fireworks,” and a warning label. If these are missing, you should consider them illegal and extremely unsafe.
• If you find unexploded fireworks, don’t touch them. Contact your local fire or police department immediately.

Burn (injury)

In medicine, a burn is a type of injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, or radiation (an example of the latter is sunburn).
Immediate first aid for burns consists of immersing the injured area in cool clean water to cool the injured tissues.
There are in modern vernacular terminology three degrees of burns.

• First-degree burns are usually limited to redness and pain at the site
• Second-degree burns additionally have blistering of the skin
• Third-degree burns additionally have charring of the skin or eschar formation. An eschar is a scab that has separated from the unaffected part of the body. These are painless because at this stage the nerve endings are burnt away.

A newer classification of "Superficial Thickness", "Partial Thickness" (which is divided into superficial and deep categories) and "Full Thickness" relates more precisely to the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layers of skin and is used to guide treatment and predict outcome.
Burns that injure the tissues underlying the skin, such as the muscles or bones, are characterized as "fourth-degree burns". (In classical medical literature there were six degrees; with fourth-degree burns the skin is irretrievably lost, in fifth-degree burns the muscle is irretrievably lost, in sixth-degree burns the bone is charred). Serious burns, especially if they cover large areas of the body, can cause death; any hint of burn injury to the lungs, for example through smoke inhalation, is a medical emergency.
Chemical burns are usually caused by chemical compounds, such as sodium hydroxide (lye), silver nitrate, and more serious compounds (such as sulfuric acid). Note that most chemicals (but not all) that can cause moderate to severe chemical burns are strong acids or bases. Nitric acid is possibly one of the worst burn-causing chemicals, as an oxidizer. Most chemicals that can cause moderate to severe chemical burns are called caustic.
Electrical burns are generally symptoms of electrocution, being struck by lightning, being defibrillated or cardioverted without conductive gel, etc. The internal injuries sustained may be disproportionate to the size of the "burns" seen - as these are only the entry and exit wounds of the electrical current.
Survival and outcome (scars, contractures, complications) of severe burn injuries is remarkably improved if the patient is treated in a specialized burn center/unit rather than a hospital.
In cases of murder, burning might also be used to eliminate the evidence (body) or make features unidentifiable.

Scald

Scalding is a specific type of burning that is caused by non-solid hot material: liquid and/or steam, usually water and vapour, sometimes oil (especially for cooks). It is usually regional and usually does not cause death. However, deaths have occurred in more unusual circumstances, such as when people have accidentally broken a steam pipe.

Stabbing

A stabbing or stab is the penetration of the human body by a sharp or pointed object at close range. Stab connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others, although such stabbings are rarely serious and still more rarely fatal. Stabbing differs from slashing or cutting in that the motion of the object used in a stabbing generally moves perpendicular to and directly into the victim's body, rather than being drawn across it. Death from stabbing is caused by shock, severe blood loss, infection, or loss of functioning of an essential organ such as the heart or lungs.
The human skin has a somewhat elastic property as a self-defense; when the human body is stabbed by a thin object such as a kitchen knife, the skin often closes tightly around the object and closes again if the object is removed, which can trap some blood within the body. Some have speculated that the fuller, an elongated concave depression in a metal blade, functions to let blood out of the body in order to cause more damage. This misconception has led to fullers becoming widely known as "blood grooves", and may have caused them to be added to some short weapons, where they serve no purpose. However, internal bleeding is just as dangerous as external bleeding; if enough blood vessels are severed to cause serious injury, the skin's elasticity will do nothing to prevent blood from exiting the circulatory system and accumulating uselessly in other parts of the body.
Stabbings have been common throughout human history, and were the means used to assassinate a number of distinguished historical figures, such as the Roman Emperors Julius Caesar and Nero. Stabbings today are common among gangs and in prisons because knives are cheap, easy to acquire (or manufacture), and highly concealable. The threat of stabbing is perhaps the most common form of robbery. The stabbing method of choice for today's street gang member is the juke, in which the stabbing weapon is inserted into the victim (usually in a soft area like the abdomen), turned, and withdrawn, which produces a horrific semi-circular wound.
The historical practice of stabbing oneself purposefully in ritual suicide is known as hara-kiri (seppuku).
Commonly used weapons for stabbing purposes:

• Knife
• Stiletto
• Shiv or shank
• Sword
• Spear
• Bayonet
• Scissors
• Ice pick
• Hat pin
• Pen
• Pencil

Objects common in accidental stabbings:

• Glass, such as in a window through which the victim accidentally walks or falls
• Rebar and other metal construction materials
• Nails, which pierce the victim's foot
• Drill bits

A ten-year series of 142 homicidal fatalities caused by sharp force injury was studied with the aim to systematize information inherent in the characteristics of the victim and the pattern of injuries. The population of victims consisted of 112 males (79%) and 30 females (21%); among perpetrators, 125 (88%) were males.
Among victims as well as among perpetrators, persons of non-Swedish origin were overrepresented in relation to their share of the nonselected population. In 82 cases (58%), one or two wounds had been inflicted; in 23 cases (16%), ten or more wounds. In the latter group, eleven victims but no perpetrators were female.
In the majority of cases victim and perpetrator were known to each other, and in instances of multiple wounding, a close relationship between the two was clearly more common than in the group of one- to two-wound fatalities. Tests for blood alcohol were positive in 86 of 116 victims (74%), the majority being in elimination phase. Furthermore, 96 of 120 perpetrators (80%) hadpositive tests or were known to be drunk at the time of the killing. In multiple wound fatalities, alcohol inebriation was less common both among victims and perpetrators. In these cases, the two persons involved were usually closely related or intimately known to each other, and in the absence of psychiatric disorder in the assailant, the motive was of a passionate type.

Electrocution

An electric shock, or electrocution, may occur upon contact of a human with electricity. Current electrical codes in many parts of the world call for installing a residual-current device (RCD or GFCI, ground fault circuit interrupter) on electrical circuits thought to pose a particular hazard to reduce the risk of electrocution.

Table of contents [hide]

1 Description 2 Working With Electricity 3 Theft of Hardware 4 Electrocution Prevention 4.1 Safe Work Practices 4.2 CPR and ACLS Procedures 5 Ogrish Content

Description

An electric shock is often painful and can even be lethal, but the level of voltage is not a direct guide to harmfulness, despite the popularity of such a measure. Physiological effects are determined by voltage, current and duration. A high voltage and a high current together are lethal, but so are a lower voltage and current of extended duration. An example of the first would be a lightning strike and of the second would be contact with a live mains cable, but even a mains cable is carrying many times a minimum lethal shock.
Electrical discharge from lightning tends to travel over the surface of the body and causes respiratory arrest. From a mains circuit the damage is more likely to be internal, leading to cardiac arrest. With line currents above 2 milliamperes there can be a muscular spasm which causes the affected person to grip and be unable to release from the current source. It is believed that human lethality is most common with AC current at 100-250 volts, as lower voltages can fail to overcome body resistance while with higher voltages the victim's muscular contractions are often severe enough to cause them to recoil (although there will be considerable burn damage). Damage due to current is through tissue heating and interference with nervous control, especially over the heart. Fibrillation can be induced (and removed) by 100 mA, although, oddly, with higher currents (200 mA and above) contractions in muscles around the heart can actually prevent the heart from fibrillating. Fibrillations are usually lethal because all the heart muscle cells move independently, tearing the tissue and destroying the heart beyond recovery. But at 200mA, the contractions are so strong that the heart muscles cannot move at all. Tissue heating due to resistance can cause extensive and deep burns. Other issues affecting lethality are frequency, which is an issue in causing cardiac arrest or muscular spasms, and pathway - if the current passes through the chest or head there is an increased chance of death.
Depending on the circumstances, a human can survive 35 kV without great harm while 50 V can kill. The usual voltage threshold of dry skin is 50 volts DC. The above information would appear to suggest that the requirements to distribute electrical current to domestic users have resulted in a combination that is quite deadly. In parts of America and a few countries like Japan, the power is distributed at 110-120 V AC to the end users. In Europe and most other countries, it is distributed at 220-240 volts.

Working With Electricity

Worker electrocuted in India

Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians, and other professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and salespeople work with electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.
Many deaths and injuries arise from:

• Use of poorly maintained electrical equipment

• Work near overhead power lines

• Contact with underground power cables during excavation work

• Work on or near 230 volt domestic electricity supplies

• Use of unsuitable electrical equipment in explosive areas such as car paint spraying booths

It is strongly recommended that people working with exposed parts of electrical machines should work with only one of their hands. The best way to do this is to keep your left hand in your pocket. This is because if both hands make contact with the wrong surfaces, the current flows through the body from one hand to the other. This can lead the current to pass through the heart. Conversely, if the current passes from one hand to the feet, little current will probably pass through the heart.

Theft of Hardware

An electrocuted thief

Utilities that supply power are subject to theft of service and theft of hardware used to provide service. Individuals who try to steal from a power utility risk electrocution. We conducted a retrospective study of all individuals examined by the Jefferson County Coroner Medical Examiner Office from January 1981 through December 2001 and found that 8 individuals died trying to steal from a power utility. All decedents were men, with an average age of 33 years. Seven decedents were stealing copper, and 1 was stealing electricity. Only 1 decedent survived long enough to be admitted to a hospital. Five decedents were intoxicated, 3 with ethanol, 1 with cocaine, and 1 with both cocaine and ethanol. Seven decedents sustained electrical burns in keeping with the high voltage to which they were subjected. The unburned decedent died of laceration of the aorta at its origin from the heart, an injury sustained when the decedent fell from the power pole. All 8 decedents attempted their theft during daylight. Items found in the decedent's pockets, the presence of a ladder nearby, or the presence of electrical tools around the body may help to establish the attempted act of theft.

Electrocution Prevention

For staff and volunteers working on a building repair program, there may be a risk of electrocution. This can happen when using portable metal or conductive ladders near energized overhead power lines, when using power tools, or when work is being completed on the structure’s electrical system.
According to National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), electrocution victims can be revived if immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or defibrillation is provided. While immediate defibrillation would be ideal, CPR given within approximately 4 minutes of the electrocution, followed by advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) measures within approximately 8 minutes, can be lifesaving. Nonprofits should ensure that a number of its staff and volunteers are trained in CPR to help save the lives of workers who contact electrical energy. Nonprofits can also limit the probability that any of its staff or volunteers are electrocuted through prevention, safe work practices, and training in CPR and ACLS procedures.
Prevention must be the primary goal of any nonprofit’s workplace safety program. However, since contact with electrical energy occurs even in facilities that promote safety, safety programs should provide for an appropriate emergency medical response.

Safe Work Practices

No one who works with electric energy should work alone; a “buddy system” should be established. It may be advisable to have both members of the buddy system trained in CPR, as one cannot predict which one will contact electrical energy. Every individual who works with or around electrical energy should be familiar with emergency procedures. This should include knowing how to de-energize the electrical system before rescuing or beginning resuscitation on a worker who remains in contact with an electrical energy source. All workers exposed to electrical hazards should be made aware that even “low” voltage circuits can be fatal, and that prompt emergency medical care can be lifesaving.

CPR and ACLS Procedures

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and first aid should be immediately available at every nonprofit’s work site. This capability is necessary to provide prompt (within 4 minutes) care for the victims of cardiac or respiratory arrest, from any cause. Nonprofit employers may contact the local office of the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or similar groups or agencies, to set up a course for employees and volunteers. Provisions should be worked out at each work site to provide ACLS within 8 minutes (if possible), usually by calling an ambulance staffed by paramedics. Signs on or near phones should give the correct emergency number for the area, and workers should be educated regarding the information to give when the call is made. For large facilities, a prearranged place should be established for the nonprofit’s workers to meet paramedics in an emergency.

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that cause injury, illness, or death to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale. Some poisons are also toxins, usually referring to naturally produced substances that kill rapidly in small quantities, such as the bacterial proteins that cause tetanus and botulism. A distinction between the two terms is not always observed, even among scientists. Animal toxins that are delivered subcutaneously (e.g. by sting or bite) are also called venom. In normal usage, a poisonous organism is one that is harmful to consume, but a venomous organism uses poison to defend itself while still alive. A single organism can be both venomous and poisonous.The derivative forms "toxic" and "poisonous" are synonymous. Within chemistry and physics, a poison is a substance that obstructs or inhibits a reaction, for example by binding to a catalyst. Poisons have been known to be symbolized by the skull and crossbones, although since this attracts children (being linked to pirates) it is gradually being replaced by Mr. Yuk in the United States.

Table of contents

1 Biological poisoning 2 Classification of biological poisons by mechanism 2.1 Corrosives 2.1.1 Acids 2.1.2 Bases 2.1.3 Oxidizers 2.1.4 Reducing agents 2.2 Metabolic poisons (energy) 2.2.1 Specific biochemical inhibitors 2.2.2 Heavy metals 2.3 Neurotoxins 2.3.1 Anticholinesterases 2.3.2 Acetylcholine antagonists 2.3.3 Cell membrane disrupters 2.4 Others 2.4.1 Teratogens (birth defects) 2.4.2 Mutagens (DNA damage) 2.4.3 Carcinogens (cancer) 3 Examples of biological poisons by source 3.1 Non-radioactive inorganic poisons 3.2 Organic poisons 3.3 Naturally produced poisons and toxins 4 Famous poisonings 4.1 Confirmed poisonings 4.2 Suspected or rumoured poisonings

Biological poisoning

Contact or absorption of poisons can cause rapid death or impairment. Agents that act on the nervous system can paralyze in seconds or less, and include both biologically derived neurotoxins and so-called nerve gases, which may be synthesized for warfare or industry. Inhaled or ingested cyanide almost instantly starves the body of energy by poisoning mitochondria and the synthesis of ATP. Intravenous injection of an unnaturally high concentration of potassium chloride, such as in the execution of prisoners in parts of the United States, quickly stops the heart by eliminating the cell potential necessary for muscle contraction. Such rapid reactions are often called acute poisoning.
Most (but not all) pesticides are created to act as poisons to target organisms, although acute or less observable chronic poisoning can also occur to non-target organism, including the humans who apply the pesticides and other beneficial organisms.
A poison may also act slowly. This is known as chronic poisoning and is most common for poisons that bioaccumulate. Examples of these types of poisons are mercury and lead.
Many substances regarded as poisons are toxic only indirectly. An example is "wood alcohol" or methanol, which is not poisonous itself, but is chemically converted to toxic formaldehyde in the liver. Many drug molecules are made toxic in the liver, and the genetic variability of certain liver enzymes makes the toxicity of many compounds differ between one individual and the next.
The study of the symptoms, mechanisms, treatment and diagnosis of biological poisoning is known as toxicology.
Exposure to radioactive substances can produce radiation poisoning, an unrelated phenomenon.

Classification of biological poisons by mechanism

Corrosives

Corrosives mechanically damage biological systems on contact. Both the sensation and injury caused by contact with a corrosive resembles a burn injury.

Acids

Strong inorganic acids, such as concentrated sulfuric acid, nitric acid or hydrochloric acid, destroy any biological tissue with which they come in contact within seconds.

Bases

Strong inorganic bases, such as lye, gradually dissolve skin on contact but can cause serious damage to eyes or mucous membranes much more rapidly. Ammonia is a far weaker base than lye, but has the distinction of being a gas and thus may more easily come into contact with the sensitive mucous membranes of the respiratory system. Quicklime, which has household uses, is a particularly common cause of poisoning. Some of the light metals, if handled carelessly, can not only cause thermal burns, but also produce very strong basic solutions in sweat.

Oxidizers

Poisons of this class are generally not very harmful to higher life forms such as humans (for whom the outer layer of cells are more or less disposable), but lethal to microorganisms such as bacteria. Typical examples are ozone and chlorine, either of which is added to nearly every municipal water supply in order to kill any harmful microorganisms present. All halogens are strong oxidizing agents, fluorine being the strongest of all.

Reducing agents

The most notable substance in this class is phosphorus.

Metabolic poisons (energy)

Metabolic poisons act by adversely disrupting the normal metabolism of an organism.

Specific biochemical inhibitors

• By far the most notable substance in this class is carbon monoxide, which blocks the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen.
• Fluoroacetate blocks a vital step in the citric acid cycle.
• Cyanide bonds with an enzyme involved in ATP production.
• Rotenone - disrupts electron transport in cellular respiration
• Antimycin - disrupts electron transport in cellular respiration
• Malonate - inhibits cellular respiration
• 2,4-Dinitrophenol - disrupts cellular proton gradient

Heavy metals

A common trait shared by heavy metals is the chronic nature of their toxicity (a notable exception would be bismuth, which is considered entirely non-toxic). Low levels of heavy metal salts ingested over time accumulate in the body until toxic levels are reached.
Heavy metals are generally far more toxic when ingested in the form of soluble salts than in elemental form. For example, metallic mercury passes through the human digestive tract without interaction and is commonly used in dental fillings—even though mercury salts and inhaled mercury vapor are highly toxic.
Notable examples:

• arsenic (see arsenic poisoning)
• antimony
• barium
• cadmium
• chromium
• lead
• mercury
• thallium
• uranium
• beryllium (a highly but subtly toxic light metal)

Neurotoxins

Neurotoxins interfere with nervous system functions and often lead to near-instant paralysis followed by rapid death. They include most spider and snake venoms, as well as many modern chemical weapons. One class of toxins of interest to neurochemical researchers are the various cone snail toxins known as conotoxins.

Anticholinesterases

• Fasciculin

Acetylcholine antagonists

• Curare
• Pancuronium

Cell membrane disrupters

Others

• Nicotine - not strictly a neurotoxin, but capable in large doses of causing heart attack

Teratogens (birth defects)

• Thalidomide

Mutagens (DNA damage)

• Ultraviolet Rays - Long term exposure may cause skin cancer such as Melanoma
• Other Ionizing Radiation - Causes radiation sickness and cancer
• ethidium bromide

Carcinogens (cancer)

A carcinogen is a chemical substance which is believed to cause cancer. There are an enormous variety of possible carcinogens. Some of the better known or more controversial examples are listed below.

• Some artificial sweeteners (e.g. Aspartame and Saccharin) have been alleged to be carcinogenic or neurotoxic (however these research behind these claims is highly controversial and inconclusive; the FDA believes aspartame is safe for humans in dietary doses).
• Asbestos - a widely used insulating material that causes mesothelioma and other cancers especially in the respiratory tract.
• Benzene (lab solvent, used in various chemical reactions).
• Carbon tetrachloride (formerly used in fire extinguishers).
• Dioxin - actually a group of many chemicals - has carcinogenic and other toxic effects.

Tobacco, whether chewed or smoked, is also carcinogenic.

Examples of biological poisons by source

Unfinished task: Items below should be added as examples under the appropriate poison class above.

Non-radioactive inorganic poisons

• Arsenic compounds
  • arsenic trioxide
  • Fowler's solution
• inorganic compounds
  • phosgene
  • phosphine
  • hydrogen sulfide
• Acids and bases, corrosives
  • various light metal oxides, hydroxides, superoxides
  • Bleach, some pool chemicals, other hypochlorates (acidic and oxydizing effect)
  • hydrofluoric acid

Organic poisons

• formaldehyde

Naturally produced poisons and toxins

• Microorganisms
  • ethanol
  • botulin toxin
  • Tetrodotoxin
  • domoic acid (or Amnesic Shellfish Poison, ASP)
  • Shellfish toxins (PSP, DSP, NSP, ASP )
• snake and spider venoms
• plant toxins (including many alkaloids)
  • strychnine
  • solanine
  • atropine
  • hyoscyamine
  • aconite
  • curare
  • digitoxin
  • digoxin
  • poison hemlock
  • hemlock water dropwort
  • Phytohaemagglutinin (Red kidney bean poisoning)
  • Grayanotoxin (Honey intoxication)
• fungal toxins
  • amanita toxin, see Amanita phalloides
  • muscarine
  • aflatoxins
• Ciguatera poisoning
  • Scombroid poisoning
  • Ouabain
  • Pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Famous poisonings

Confirmed poisonings

• Bhopal Disaster — An accidental release of poisonous gas from a pesticide plant in India that killed over 2,000 people and injured many more.
• Jonestown inhabitants — died from a poisoned drink in a mass suicide/murder: see Jonestown mass suicide
• Love Canal — Buried toxic waste was covered and used as a building site for housing and school in Niagara Falls, New York, resulting in claims of chronic poisoning and a massive environmental cleanup.
• Clare Boothe Luce — Fell ill but did not die; arsenic poisoning
• Georgi Markov — Assassinated in London with ricin
• Socrates — According to Plato, killed by drinking Hemlock (water hemlock, not hemlock the evergreen tree)
• Alan Turing — Apparently committed suicide by painting an apple with Cyanide and taking a bite.
• Viktor Yushchenko — poisoned with dioxin during the Ukrainan elections.

Suspected or rumoured poisonings

• Yasser Arafat — Arafat reputedly died from liver cirrhosis, which may be a consequence of chronic alcohol use or poisoning. Some Arafat supporters feel it is extremely unlikely that Arafat habitually used alcohol (forbidden by Islam), and so suspect poisoning, possibly by the Mossad. (Note that cirrhosis is not necessarily caused by alcohol use, or indeed any poison.)
• Napoleon Bonaparte — some claim he was killed by someone on his staff with arsenic. Evidence is inconclusive.
• Charles Darwin — possibly died due to self-medication with Fowler's solution, one percent potassium arsenite
• Jamestown colonists — Standard historical accounts claim deaths by starvation, but the possibility of arsenic poisoning by rat poison (or of death by Bubonic plague) has also been reported.
• Joseph Stalin — Officially cerebral hemorrhage; but, according to Vyacheslav Molotov's memoirs, Lavrenty Beria claimed to have poisoned Stalin.

Drunk driving (United States)

fin alcohol-dfa reduced allocation of federal highway funds to any state which refused to raise the age to 21). Unlike DUI cases that involve alcohol, there is no "per se" or legal limit that is employed for persons accused of driving under the influence of prescription medication or illicit drugs. Instead, the key inquiry focuses on whether the driver's faculties were impaired by the substance that was consumed. The detection and successful prosecution of drivers impaired by prescription medication or illegal drugs is therefore quite difficult. Similarly, although urinalysis toxicology screens can detect the presence of such substances in the driver's bloodstream, these analyses are unable to demonstrate that the substance was actually causing impairment at the time of driving. In response to these problems, several jurisdictions are currently considering legislation that would establish "zero tolerance" laws for those drivers arrested for DUI and found to have drugs or medication in their system. Additionally, breathalyzers have been developed for the purpose of administering roadside or laboratory tests that can detect the actual level of a controlled substance in an individual's body.
Many jurisdictions require more serious penalties (i.e., jail time, larger fines, longer DUI program, the installation of ignition interlock devices) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20, or 0.15 in some places. These additional sanctions are an attempt to deter and punish the operation of a vehicle at extremely high BAC levels and the concomitant danger posed to the safety of persons and property by heavily impaired drivers. In many cases, the reason given for these additional sanctions is because an average person would have passed out from that much alcohol. To be able to drive at that level, a person has to have gotten drunk regularly for years, to increase his/her alcohol dfU.S. designate a "per se" blood or breath alcohol level as the threshold point where a person is presumed to be impaired. The most common blood alcohol content (BAC) "legal limit" in the United States is 0.08 (i.e., 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood). Some states include a lesser charge — often known as driving while impaired — at a BAC of, say, 0.05 or above but less than the legal limit for the more serious charge. Prior to wider emphasis on drinking and driving in the 1980s, standards of 0.12 were also in place in some states. The legal limit for aircraft pilots and commercial drivers in the U.S. is set at 0.04. All states also observe a much stricter standard — known in some of them as "TCP," standing for "Trace Constitutes Positive" — for drivers under the age of 21, which, since 1989, has been the uniform minimum purchase age for alcoholic beverages throughout the nation (prior to that year about half of all U.S. states formerly observed a lower drinking age, most commonly 18; the trend toward raising the age commenced in the late 1970s, with much of the impetus for doing so provided by a federal law passed in the mid-1980s mandating a reduced allocation of federal highway funds to any state which refused to raise the age to 21).
Unlike DUI cases that involve alcohol, there is no "per se" or legal limit that is employed for persons accused of driving under the influence of prescription medication or illicit drugs. Instead, the key inquiry focuses on whether the driver's faculties were impaired by the substance that was consumed. The detection and successful prosecution of drivers impaired by prescription medication or illegal drugs is therefore quite difficult. Similarly, although urinalysis toxicology screens can detect the presence of such substances in the driver's bloodstream, these analyses are unable to demonstrate that the substance was actually causing impairment at the time of driving. In response to these problems, several jurisdictions are currently considering legislation that would establish "zero tolerance" laws for those drivers arrested for DUI and found to have drugs or medication in their system. Additionally, breathalyzers have been developed for the purpose of administering roadside or laboratory tests that can detect the actual level of a controlled substance in an individual's body.

Many jurisdictions require more serious penalties (i.e., jail time, larger fines, longer DUI program, the installation of ignition interlock devices) in cases where the driver's BAC is over 0.20, or 0.15 in some places. These additional sanctions are an attempt to deter and punish the operation of a vehicle at extremely high BAC levels and the concomitant danger posed to the safety of persons and property by heavily impaired drivers. In many cases, the reason given for these additional sanctions is because an average person would have passed out from that much alcohol. To be able to drive at that level, a person has to have gotten drunk regularly for years, to increase his/her alcohol tolerance, and therefore is likely to have driven drunk repeatedly. However, since there is currently no standard test to measure alcohol tolerance, proponents of high-BAC additional penalties point to some studies that indicate that high-BAC offenders are more likely to be involved in a crash and more likely to recidivate. Critics of such laws point out that, due to the wide variation of alcohol tolerance, people with a high tolerance will suffer the additional penalties, even though they may be much less impaired than people with a low tolerance that were driving with a much lower BAC.
Some U.S. states also increase the penalties for drunk driving (even to the point of making it a felony) if certain other aggravating circumstances besides a very high BAC are present, such as if the drunk driver caused an accident requiring the hospitalization of another person lasting greater than a specified period of time (often 72 hours), in cases where an accident resulted in property damage exceeding a certain amount (often $500), or where the driver has prior (and relatively recent) convictions for drunk driving. In addition, most states observe administrative laws that further penalize people convicted of DUI, typically enforced by the department that issues driver's licenses, usually titled Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or Department of Licensing. Also, in many states, persons under 21 who purchase, or even attempt or conspire to purchase, alcohol can have their driving privileges suspended (if they already are licensed drivers) or delayed (if not) even if they were not caught actually driving while intoxicated.
==History of drunk dfs*reciting all or part of the alphabet.

• FSTs are better at determining the level of impairment than they are at estimating the driver's BAC.

The (US) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has scientifically determined that three FSTs are statistically reliable in detecting impaired drivers. These three "standardized" tests (SFSTs) are the "Walk and Turn" test, the "One-leg Stand" and "Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus" in which a law enforcement officer observes the discrete movements of a person's eyes when tracking a stimulus across their field of vision.

Chemical test

If arrested, the sfwhen the vehicle was actually operated, in the case of a driver who drank a large volume immediately before driving.

If it is determined that the person is not legally intoxicated, they might be released without any charges. However, many jurisdictions have charges which don't require a particular BAC, and tests for some drugs (such as GHB) will not show up in a test designed for alcohol.
Most of the time, the driver will either be kept in a holding cell (the "drunk tank") until they are deemed sober enough to be released, or sent to jail to wait for their first court hearing (or until they can get bailed out).

Drowning

Drowning is death caused by the filling of the lungs by a fluid, usually water, rendering breathing impossible and leading to death due to asphyxia. Near drowning is initial survival of a drowning accident, and can lead to serious secondary complications including death later on; cases of near drowning therefore also require attention by medical professionals. Secondary drowning is death due to chemical and biological changes in the lungs after a near drowning incident or exposure to chemicals. In many countries, drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children under 14 years old.

Table of contents

1 Occurrences 2 The Drowning Process 2.1 Common Situations Leading To Drowning 2.2 Initial Reactions to Submersion 2.3 Initial Oxygen Starvation 2.4 Water Entering the Upper Airways 2.5 Unconsciousness due to Oxygen Starvation 2.6 Secondary Drowning 2.7 Cardiac Arrest and Death 3 Rescue and Treatment 4 Ogrish Content

Occurrences

About 6500 drowning deaths occur in the United States every year, and an estimated 140,000 worldwide. The rate of near drowning incidents is unknown. Males, in general, are much more likely to drown than females, and most of the victims are either young children (especially boys) or young adolescent males. In some regions, drowning follows car accidents as the second most likely cause of injury and death for children. Surveys indicate that 10% of children under 5 experienced a situation with a high risk of drowning. Drowning related injuries are the fifth most likely cause of accidental death in the US. The causes of drowning cases in the US are as follows:

• 3100 drownings related to swimming
• 1200 related to boating
• 700 related to scuba diving
• 500 related to motor vehicles
• 1000 drownings of other, or undetermined, origin

The Drowning Process

Common Situations Leading To Drowning

Most drownings occur in water, drownings in other fluids are comparatively rare and often industrial accidents. Surveys suggest that 90% of drownings occur in freshwater (rivers and lakes) rather than in the ocean.
Well known mechanisms by which a person drowns can be categorized as follows:

• Physically hindered in the attempt to extricate self (eg lack of consciousness, injury, being trapped, or hampered by clothing)
• Physiological inability to remain floating in a body of water, often due to a combination of exposure, hypothermia, shock or exhaustion. (Cold, such as ocean water, is a major contributor to these)
• Inimical action of the water itself (rip tides, currents, waves, eddies)
• Acute illness interfering with bodily motor functions (e.g. heart attack or stroke whilst swimming)
• Forcible submersion by another person (i.e. murder)
• Suicide

Causes underlying this may include accidents such as falling through ice, or the influence of drink or drugs, since lack of good judgement is a major enhancer of risk (PCP users frequently lose their sense of direction as well, and drowning is a major cause of death for them), and lack of skill (inability to swim, going out of ones depth). A few centimeters of water are sufficient for drowning in the right circumstances, if the victim is lying face down on the water (child in bath, alcoholic falling unconscious in puddle)
Drowning may also be due to strong negative buoyancy, where the victim is forced underwater by an object that is denser than water. Finally, drowning may be caused by another person forcing the victim under water, i.e. murder. Near drowning victims often report that their last thought before unconsciousness was imagining other peoples reaction to their drownings, and feeling embarrassed and ashamed for being stupid enough to drown, believing that smart people would be able to prevent their own drownings.

Initial Reactions to Submersion

Submerging the face into water causes the mammalian diving reflex, which is found in all mammals, and especially in marine mammals such as whales and seals. This reflex puts the body into energy saving modus to maximize the time an organism can stay under water. The effect of this reflex is greater in cold water than in warm water, and includes three factors:

• Bradycardia, a reduction in the heart rate of up to 50% in humans.
• Peripheral Vasoconstriction, the restriction of the blood flow to the extremities to increase the blood and oxygen supply to the vital organs, especially the brain.
• Blood Shift, the shifting of blood to the thoracic cavity (region of the chest between the diaphragm and the neck) to avoid the collapse of the lungs under higher pressure during deeper dives.

Thus both a conscious and an unconscious person can survive longer without oxygen under water than in a comparable situation on dry land.

Initial Oxygen Starvation

A conscious victim will hold their breath, and will try to access air, often resulting in panic, including rapid body movement. This uses up more oxygen in the blood stream and reduces the time to unconsciousness.
The victim can voluntarily hold their breath for some time, but the breathing reflex will increase until the victim will try to breathe, even when submerged. The breathing reflex in the human body is related not to the amount of oxygen in the blood but the amount of carbon dioxide. During apnea, the oxygen in the blood is used by the cells, and converted into carbon dioxide. Thus, the level of oxygen in the blood decreases, and the level of carbon dioxide increases. Increasing carbon dioxide levels lead to a stronger and stronger breathing reflex, up to the breath-hold breakpoint, at which the victim can no longer hold their breath. This typically occurs at a partial pressure of carbon dioxide of 55mm Hg, but may differ significantly from individual to individual and can be increased through training. Decreasing oxygen levels, however, lead to a sudden loss of consciousness without warning, usually around a partial pressure of 25 to 30mm Hg. This condition of inadequate oxygen is called hypoxia. Trained apnea divers can hold their breath and resist the breathing reflex until they pass out. The loss of consciousness due to hypoxia is called shallow water blackout when it occurs as the victim is ascending from a dive; the decreasing water pressure around the victim causes the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood to also decrease. The loss of consciousness due to hypoxia is more likely when rapid breathing before apnea decreased the level of carbon dioxide in the blood without increasing the level of oxygen, as the blood is usually saturated with oxygen. Therefore, blackout may occur without warning before a breathing reflex is felt. Breath holding in water should never be preceded by rapid breathing to store oxygen, and should always be supervised by a second person.

Water Entering the Upper Airways

If water enters the airways of a conscious victim, the victim will try to cough up the water, or swallow it, thus inhaling more water involuntarily. Upon water entering the airways, conscious and unconscious victims show laryngospasm, i.e. the Larynx or the vocal cords in the throat constrict and seal the air tube. This prevents water from entering the lungs. Due to this laryngospasm, water enters the stomach in the initial phase of drowning and very little water enters the lungs. Unfortunately, this can prevent air from entering the lungs too. In most victims, the laryngospasm relaxes some time after unconsciousness, and water can enter the lungs; this is called wet drowning. However, about 10-15% of victims maintain this seal until cardiac arrest; this is called dry drowning as no water enters the lungs. In forensic pathology, water in the lungs indicate that the victim was still alive during drowning. The absence of water in the lungs may be either a dry drowning or a death before submersion.

Unconsciousness due to Oxygen Starvation

Oxygen starvation will render a victim unconscious. An unconscious victim rescued with an airway still sealed due to laryngospasm stands a good chance of experiencing no ill after effects. Also, since little water has entered the lungs, no water has to be removed before beginning artificial respiration. In most victims, the laryngospasm relaxes some time after unconsciousness, and water fills the lungs resulting in a wet drowning. Freshwater contains less salt than blood, and will therefore be absorbed by the blood stream due to osmosis. In animal experiments, this changed the blood chemistry and lead to cardiac arrest in 2-3 minutes. Salt water is much saltier than blood, and due to osmosis, water will leave the blood stream and enter the lungs. In animal experiments, the thicker blood requires more work from the heart, leading to cardiac arrest in 8 to 10 minutes. However, autopsies on human drowning victims show no indications of these effects, and there appears to be little difference between drownings in salt water and fresh water.

Secondary Drowning

Water, regardless of its salt content, will damage the inside surface of the lung, collapse the alveoli and cause a hardening of the lungs with a reduced ability to exchange air. This may cause death even hours after rescuing a conscious victim and is called secondary drowning. Inhaling certain poisonous vapors or gases will have a similar effect.

Cardiac Arrest and Death

Due to lack of oxygen or chemical changes in the lungs, the heart may stop beating. This cardiac arrest stops the flow of blood, and thus stops the transport of oxygen to the brain. Cardiac arrest is also known as clinical death. At this point, there is still a chance of rescue. However, the brain cannot survive long without oxygen, and the lack of oxygen in the blood combined with the cardiac arrest will lead to the deterioration of the brain cells, causing brain damage and eventually brain death. In medicine, this is considered to be the point of no return where the victim is truly dead. On surface, the brain will die after approximately 6 minutes (but see 'cold water drowning', below). After death, rigor mortis will set in and stay for about two days, depending on many factors including water temperature (See Decomposition).

Rescue and Treatment

Many pools and designated bathing areas either have either lifeguards, a pool safety camera system for local or remote monitoring, or computer aided drowning detection. However, bystanders play an important role in drowning detection and either intervention or the notification of authorities by phone or alarm.
If a drowning occurs or a swimmer becomes missing, bystanders should immediately call for help. The lifeguard should be called if present. If not, Emergency medical services and Paramedics should be contacted as soon as possible.
The first step in rescuing a drowning victim is to bring the victim's mouth and nose above the water surface. For further treatment it is advisable to remove the victim from the water. Conscious victims may panic and thus hinder rescue efforts. Often, a victim will cling to the rescuer and try to pull themselves out of the water, submerging the rescuer in the process. To avoid this, it is recommended that the rescuer approach the panicking victim with a buoyant object, or from behind, twisting the victim's arm on the back to restrict movement. If the victim pushes the rescuer under water, the rescuer should dive downwards to escape the victim.
After successfully approaching the victim, negatively buoyant objects such as a weight belt are removed. The priority is then to transport the victim to the water's edge in preparation for removal from the water. The victim is turned on his back. A secure grip is used to tow panicking victims from behind, with both rescuer and victim laying on their back, and the rescuer swimming a breaststroke kick. A cooperative victim may be towed in a similar fashion held at the armpits, and the victim may assist with a breaststroke kick. An unconscious victim may be pulled in a similar fashion held at the chin and cheeks, ensuring that the mouth and nose is well above the water.
There is also the option of pushing a cooperative victim lying on his back with the rescuer swimming on his belly and pushing the feet of the victim, or both victim and rescuer lying on the belly, with the victim hanging from the shoulders of the rescuers. This has the advantage that the rescuer can use both arms and legs to swim breaststroke, but if the victim pushes his head above the water, the rescuer may get pushed down. This method is often used to retrieve tired swimmers. If the victim wears lifejacket, buoyancy compensator, or other flotation device that stabilizes his position with the face up, only one hand of the rescuer is needed to pull the victim, and the other hand may provide forward movement or may help in rescue breathing while swimming, using for example a snorkel.
Special care has to be taken for victims with suspected spinal injuries, and a back board (spinal board) may be needed for the rescue. In water, CPR is very difficult, and the goal should be to bring the victim to a stable ground quickly and then to start CPR.
If the approach to a stable ground includes the edge of a pool without steps or the edge of a boat, special techniques have been developed for moving the victim over the obstacle. For pools, the rescuer stands outside, holds the victim by his hands, with the victims back to the edge. the rescuer then dips the victim into the water quickly to achieve an upward speed of the body, aiding with the lifting of the body over the edge. Lifting a victim over the side of a boat may require more than one person. Special techniques are also used by the Coast Guard and military for helicopter rescues.
After reaching dry ground, all victims should seek medical assistance, especially if unconscious or if even small amounts of water have entered the lungs. An unconscious victim may need artificial respiration or CPR.
The Heimlich maneuver is needed only for obstructed airways, not for water in the airways. Performing the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims not only delays ventilation, it may induce vomiting - the vomit may then be aspirated, leading to serious injury or death. Furthermore, news articles have raised concerns that the entire concept is not only useless, but that Dr. Henry Heimlich used fabricated case reports to promote the idea: [1] (http://complaint.active.ws)
100% Oxygen is highly recommended, including an intubation if necessary. Treatment for hypothermia may also be necessary. Water in the stomach need not be removed. Other injuries should also be treated. Victims that are alert, awake, and intact have nearly a 100% survival rate.
Drowning victims should be treated even if they have been submerged for a long time. The rule "no patient should be pronounced dead until warm and dead" applies. Children in particular have a good chance of survival in water up to 3 minutes, or 10 minutes in cold water (10-15C or 50-60F). Submersion in cold water can slow the metabolism drastically. There are rare but documented cases of survivable submersion for extreme lengths of time. In one case a child survived drowning after being submerged in cold water for 70 minutes. In another, an 18 year old man survived 38 minutes under water. This is known as cold water drowning.

Driving under influence

Driving under the influence, drink-driving, drunk driving, or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (ethanol) or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is illegal in most jurisdictions. Several anti-drink-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drink-driving is responsible for a very large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year. The specific criminal offence may be called, depending on the state, driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Such laws may also apply to boating, or piloting aircraft.
Guilt may be established by subjective tests of the driver's impairment, or measurement of his blood alcohol content (BAC). This is expressed in terms of milligrams of alcohol per millilitres of blood, or as a percentage. (10 mg/100 ml = 0.01 g/100 g = 0.01 %).

Autoerotic asphyxiation

Autoerotic asphyxiation is the practice of self-strangulation, typically by the use of a ligature, while masturbating. The decrease of blood to the brain is said to heighten the sexual pleasure. It is an extremely dangerous practice that results in many deaths each year. Deaths often occur when the loss of consciousness caused by partial asphyxia leads to loss of control over the means of strangulation, resulting in continued asphyxia and death. Victims are often found to have rigged some sort of "rescue mechanism" which has not worked in the way they anticipated as they lost consciousness.
It has also been speculated that in some cases autoerotic asphyxiation may have triggered the little-known phenomenon of carotid sinus reflex death.
It is a popular subject in tabloids and celebrity gossip magazines, particularly when a celebrity dies as a result of suicide or other mysterious circumstances. Such was reputedly the case with the deaths of Jerzy Kosinski (in 1991) and Michael Hutchence (in 1997), though no evidence to support the claim was produced in either case.
The death in 1994 of Stephen Milligan, the British Conservative MP for Eastleigh, was a case of auto-erotic asphyxiation combined with self-bondage. This combination is particularly lethal.
Recent court cases have come to varied results as to whether the unintentional death resulting from autoerotic asphyxiation falls under the "self-induced injury" clause of standard life insurance policies, which prevents payouts for suicide. In June of 2003, one US court said the intent was not death and therefore the case was an accident, while another in August 2003 said it does technically fall within the terms since death is the logical result of asphyxiation.

Accident

An accident is something going wrong unexpectedly. Physical examples include an unintended collision (including a person or object unintendedly falling, getting injured by touching something sharp, hot, electrically live, ingesting poisons, or getting injured by not properly landing when jumping. Non-physical examples are unintendedly revealing a secret or otherwise saying something stupid, forgetting an appointment, and similar events.
Technically, "accidents" do not include incidents where someone is at fault, i.e., negligent: where someone fails to take reasonable precautions under the circumstances. If the results of such negligence were foreseeable, they were certainly not "accidental" at that level, and the negligent person can be held liable for damages and personal injuries. In an "accident", there is simply nobody to blame, because the event was unforeseeable or very unlikely. For example, a pharmacist negligently mixes the wrong chemicals and mislabels them for sale; a person ingesting the chemicals according to the label instructions has been "accidentally" poisoned, but the pharmacist's mistake was not so accidental as much as it was negligent.
A common misconception is that a gun can "go off" accidentally, where in truth, such gun accidents are extremely rare, and most gun injuries are caused by intentional acts that create the hazard of injury (i.e., pulling the trigger of a loaded gun). A defective gun that fires when dropped could qualify as being "accidental", however, one would still have to examine the cause for the gun being intentionally loaded and being handled carelessly.
50,425 people were killed by "accidents" (not including car accidents) in the U.S. in 1995. That's 19 people in 100,000.
Often accidents are investigated so that we can learn how to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called root cause analysis, but does not generally apply to accidents that cannot be predicted with any certainty. For example, a root cause of a purely random incident may never be identified, and thus future similar accidents remain "accidental."

Work Accident

An accident at work is defined as an external, sudden, unexpected, unintended, and violent event, during the execution of work or arising out of it, which causes damage to the health of or loss of the life of the employee (the insured).
For qualification as an accident at work to apply, there must be a causal relationship (direct or indirect relationship of cause and effect) between the violent event and the work. Only if the accident is due to "wilful misrepresentation" on the part of the employer or the employer's appointed representative is the employer under an obligation to compensate the victim. Under U.S. law, injured workers are often compensated according to the type of injury, rather than permitting them to sue the employer for the actual damages.
There is a significant proportion of work accidents occurring in the merchant marine.

Bicycle Accidents

Biker crushed by truck

A bicycle accident, an incident in which a bicycle ride goes wrong, can result in injury to the rider or another person in their path, and damage to the bicycle or nearby objects. In 1842, an accident occurred that has been described as the earliest bicycle accident. Kirkpatrick McMillan, the inventor of the velocipede (an early bicycle), rode his new invention for 40 miles (64 km) from his home to Glasgow. On his approach to the city, crowds gathered on the road and, unfortunately, Kirkpatrick collided with a young girl.
Although she was only slightly injured, he was subsequently charged with causing the first-ever bicycle accident. The judge could not believe Kirkpatrick had travelled the 40 miles to Glasgow in only five hours, but after much explaining, he was allowed to return home.
According to a study conducted in 2000 by SWOV (Institute for Road Safety Research) in the Netherlands, single bicycle accidents accounted for 47% of all bicycle accidents, collisions with obstacles and animals accounted for 12%, and collisions with other road users accounted for 40% (with the remaining 1% having unknown or unclassified cause).

Nuclear Accidents

Some incidents are called accidents even if they are not accidental. The Chernobyl accident for example occurred when technicians disabled the safety system and violated a long list of safe operating procedures. The resultant explosion has been termed an "accident", even when it was clearly caused by intentional acts meant to undermine the stable operation of the plant. Such are not accidents within the literal meaning of the word, but by constant repetition, may become known as accidents.

'Elderly Driver Kills Pedestrian, Keeps Going With Body in Windshield'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It has been reported that a 93-year-old driver apparently suffering from dementia fatally struck a pedestrian, then continued driving with the man's body on his windshield through a toll booth.
After striking the 52-year-old pedestrian with his gold 2002 Chevrolet Malibu, Ralph Parker of Pinellas Park drove for three miles Wednesday night severing the man's right leg, police said.
A toll taker on the Sunshine Skyway saw the body stuck through Parker's windshield and notified police; authorities did not identify the pedestrian.
Hospitalized overnight with minor scrapes, Parker was expected to be taken to an elder care facility. Because Parker did not appear to know what had happened, where he was nor the correct date, charges are not likely to be filed.
Police took Parker's license, which he renewed in 2003. According to authorities, Parker had lived by himself after the death of his wife in 1998.
A spokesman for the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said the agency would conduct its own inquiry into whether Parker, who otherwise had a clean driving record, should have had a license.
Seniors age 80 or older must pass only a vision test when renewing a Florida driver's license.

Mining accident

A mining accident is a dangerous and often deadly accident that occurs in the process of mining minerals from underneath the surface of the planet. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the process of coal mining and hard rock mining.
Many of the deaths occur in developing countries and rural parts of developed countries. Even in the US, an average of 93 people per year died in mining accidents in the most recently reported period (1991-1999). In addition to deaths, many thousands more are injured, even in the US (an average of 21,351 injuries per year between 1991 and 1999).
Mining accidents can have a variety of causes, including leaks of poisonous or explosive natural gases, collapsing of mine stopes, flooding, or general mechanical errors from improperly used or malfunctioning mining equipment.

Car safety

From Ogrish Articles

Car safety is the avoidance of car accidents or the minimization of harmful effects of accidents, in particular as pertaining to human life and health. Special safety features have been built into cars for years, some for the safety of car's occupants only, some for the safety of others.
Every year tens of thousands of people are killed in road accidents. Major factors in accidents include driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs (see drunk driving), inattentive driving, driving while fatigued (not to mention unconcious drivers), reckless driving, or encounters with road hazards such as snow, potholes and crossing animals.

History

Car safety became an issue almost immediately after the invention of the automobile, when Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot crashed his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1771. The first recorded automobile fatality was Bridget Driscoll on August 17, 1896 in London.
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) was established by the United States Congress on October 15, 1966 with automobile safety one of its purposes. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created as an independent organization on April 1, 1967, but was reliant on the DOT for administration and funding. However, in 1975 the organization was made completely independent by the Independent Safety Board Act. The NTSB and its European equivalent, EuroNCAP have issued standard safety tests for all new automobiles.
In June, 2004 the NTSB released new tests designed to test the rollover risk of new cars and SUVs. Only the Mazda RX-8 got a 5-star rating. However, the correlation between official crash test results and road deaths in vehicles is not exact. An alternative method of assessing vehicle safety is to study the road accident statistics on a model-by-model basis.
Despite technological advances, the death toll of car accidents remains high: about 40,000 people die every year in the US. While this number increases annually in line with rising population and increased travel, the rate per capita and per vehicle miles travelled decreases. In 1996 the US has about 2 deaths per 10,000 motor vehicles, comparable to 1.9 in Germany, 2.6 in France, and 1.5 in the UK. In 1998 there were 3,421 fatal accidents in the UK, the fewest since 1926.
A much higher number of accidents result in permanent disability.

Pregnant women

When pregnant, women should continue to use seatbelts and airbags properly. A University of Michigan study found that "unrestrained or improperly restrained pregnant woman are 5.7 times more likely to have an adverse fetal outcome than properly restrained pregnant women." If seatbelts are not long enough, extensions are available from the car manufacturer or an aftermarket supplier.

Children

Car safety is especially critical for young children, as car safety is generally designed for normal sized adults. Safety features that could save an adult can actually cause more damage to a child than if the feature was not there. It is important to review with others, who may be supervising your child, your rules for car safety. All children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat. This is especially the case if there are airbags in the front seat, as airbags are only designed to protect adults and may injure children.
Child safety locks prevent children from accidentally opening doors from inside the vehicle, even if the door is unlocked. The door, once unlocked, can then be opened only from the outside.

Infants

Newborn babies should be put in a car seat until they weigh at least 20 or 22 pounds (10 or 11 kg). These carriers are designed to be placed in the rear seat and face towards the rear with the baby looking towards the back window. Some of these carriers are "Convertibles" which can also be used forward facing for older children. With infants, these should only be used facing the rear. Harness straps should be at or below shoulder level.
A rear-facing infant restraint must never be put in the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger air bag. A rear-facing infant restraint places an infant's head close to the air bag module, which can cause severe head injuries or death if the air bag deploys. Modern cars include a switch to turn off the airbag system of the passenger seat, in which case a child-supporting seat must be installed.

Toddlers

Toddlers over 1 year old and between 20 and 40 pounds (10 and 20 kg) should be placed in forward facing child seats or convertibles placed in the rear seat. Harness straps should be at or above the child's shoulders.

Young Children

Children who weigh less than 80 pounds (40 kg), are younger than 8, or are shorter than 4 ft 9 in (1.4 m) are advised to use belt positioning booster seats which raise them to a level that allows seat belts to work effectively. These seats are forward facing and must be used with both lap and shoulder belts.
Make sure the lap belt fits low and tight across the lap/upper thigh area and the shoulder belt fits snug crossing the chest and shoulder to avoid abdominal injuries.
There are two main types of booster seats. If your car's back seat is lower than your child's ears, use a high back booster seat to help protect your child's head and neck. If your car's seat back is higher than your child's ears, you can use a backless booster seat.

Safety features

Avoidance

To make driving safer and prevent accidents from occurring, cars may have the following active safety features:

• Turn signals and brake lights, including Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSL)
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS) (also Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA), often coupled with Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), which prevents the brakes from locking and losing traction while braking. This shortens stopping distances in almost all cases.
• Inboard brakes allow large fade resistant discs or drums, without contributing to unsprung weight and wheel bounce, which degrade braking, handling and ride, and increase mechanical loads.
• Traction control (TCS) actuates brakes or reduces throttle to restore traction if driven wheels begin to spin.
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC)(also known for Mercedes-Benz proprietary Electronic *Stability Program (ESP), Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR) and Electronic differential lock (EDL)). Uses various sensors to intervene when the car senses a possible loss of control. The car's control unit can reduce power from the engine and even apply the brakes to prevent the car from understeering or oversteering.
• Dynamic steering response (DSR) corrects the rate of power steering system to adapt it to vehicle's speed and road conditions.
• Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS).
• Directional headlamps.
• Low center of gravity and other conventional features promoting good car handling and braking.
• Large (relative to weight) high performance tires, suited to the weather and road conditions, contribute to braking and handling. Soft high histeresis rubber, tread and cord design are important.
• Visibility for the driver, mirrors and possibly other awareness aids such as radar and wireless vehicle safety communications.
• Death Brake; there is a move to introduce deadman's braking into automotive application, primarily heavy vehicles, there may also be a need to add penalty switches to cruise controls.

Damage control

When an accident is imminent, various passive safety systems work together to minimize damage to those involved. Much research has been done using crash test dummies to make modern cars safer than ever. Recently, attention has also been given to the cars design regarding the safety of pedestrians in car-pedestrian collisions. Controversial proposals in Europe would require cars sold there to have a minimum/maximum hood height. This has caused automakers to complain that the requirements will restrict their design choices, resulting in ugly cars. Others have pointed out that a notable percentage of pedestrians in these accidents are drunk. From 2006 the use of "bull bars" (known as "roo bars" in Australia), in fashion on 4x4s and SUVs, will be illegal.

• Seatbelts (or safety belts) keep a person from being thrown forward or ejected from the vehicle.
• Airbags
  • Front airbags inflate in a medium speed head on collisions to cushion the blow of a head on the dashboard or steering wheel.
  • Side airbags inflate in a side (T-bone) collision to cusion the torso
  • Curtain airbags protect the heads of passengers in a side collision
• Bumpers to withstand low-speed collisions without damaging bodywork.
• Crumple zones absorb the energy of an impact when the car hits something
  • Crash box to dissipate impact forces
• Collapsible steering column, sometime provided with steel sheet bellows.
• Crash compatibility can be improved by matching vehicles by weight and by matching crumple zones with points of structural rigidity, particularly for side-on collisions.
• Cage construction is designed to protect vehicle occupants. Some racing vehicles have a tubular roll cage
• Reinforced side door structural members
• Fuel pump shutoff devices turn off gas flow in the event of a collision for the purpose of preventing gasoline fires.
• Light weight: The possible damage a vehicle can do to outside people and things is roughly proportional to its kinetic energy, which is its weight times the square of its speed.