PREVENTABLE ACCIDENTS

Evening Star, Issue 17700, 29 June 1921, Page 5

PREVENTABLE ACCIDENTS

TOLL OF TRANSPORT AND INDUSTRY. SOME SCIIEMES~FC)R REDUCTION. Wastage and curtailment of human life, limitation of output, decreased efficiency, and suffering, poverty, and economic waste arising from the incidence of preventable accidents is considerable, says tho ' New Zealand Journal of Health and Hospitals.’ Tiio growth of cities and the consequent congestion of traffic, modern speedy mechanical modes of locomotion and production, and the expansion of industrial concerns and dangerous occupations amalgamate in an incessant warfare resulting in this marked incidence as evidenced in tho statistical returns of nay country. Thus in America alone in nineteen months 126,000 men, women, and children wore killed by accidents in the industries, on the streets, and in the houses; and in those same months 2,000,000 persons were so seriously injured that they lost over four weeks of time, or wore permanently maimed. Contrast these figures with tho fact that, during that same period, of 2,0CX),000 American soldiers who went across sens 50,150 were killed in battle or died as result of wounds indicted, and 200,000 were injured, and it is thus revealed that the warfare of peace is as deadly as that of armed conflict. In British factories, mines, and means of transport 4,554 workers were killed and 222,000 injured in 1919. While in London in the same year a total of 688 persons wore killed by motor vehicles, and 19,0.27 injured. Of these, private Automobiles killed 138 and injured 3,744, motor buses killed 136 and injured 1,953. taxi cabs killed 358, and motor cycles 25. As to Australasia, in 1910 there were

2.779 deaths due to external violence, exclusive of suicide. Of these wo find among some of the. contributing c.auf-?R ; Burns (conflagration excepted). 290; nee{. dental drowning, 474 : traumatism by fall, 353 ; traumatism in mines or quarries, 71 ; by crashing (vehicles, railway.-;, r-tc.i. 557. In the coal mining industry in 19.13, of 21.534 employee! there wore 20 k’!fi\d and 297 .iniurc-H, and a- total of 32 killed and 989 injured for all kinds of mines. In 1919 there were 173 killed and 1.817 injured on the f-'tete and I'mle-al railway?. Turning to our own Dominion of Now Zealand, we find, according to the returns of tho Government Statistician, the following ; In the year 1918 there were 538 deaths through accidents. excluding those from homicide, starvation, and excessive cold. The number of Indies on which inquests were held for the same rear was 1.404—1.023 males and 331 females. Of these tho verdict was ,accidental death in 363 males and 72 females, 110 being due to drowning. In factories— Aecf-s. Plight. Mod. Per. Fatal. 1918-19 ... 1,053 795 192 53 8 Minos and quarries— Proportion per 1,000 persons Deaths, emptoved. Coal mines 6 LSO Metal mines ... 2 0.77 Stone quarries ... 2 1.40 Railway accidents — Pas- Emsengers. ployoes. Others. Tls. 1919 11 765 20 805 1919 33 715 29 777 The railway aceide.nls in 1019 were: Fatal 23, serious 22, minor 732, To these figures must he added those innumerable, minor and non-fatal aecidente of which no notification is received for statistical purposes. That the necessity of combe,ting all agencies tending towards such disastrous universal results is snre-lv apparent, as is fully realised in America by the existence of such organisations ns the National Snfctv Council. This is an organisation of seventy-five directors, electing eighteen executive committeemen (the directors elect the officers) ; four hundred and fifty high-grade, men in all parte are acting as committeemen and officers of local councils. The general manager and staff are the only salaried officers. It is a voluntary co-operative association of employers and others—non-political, -novi-cnmmeveial, and not. for profit. At present it liar a membership of 3,800 factories, railroads, public service companies, mines, insurance companies, technical schools, etc. The following is the nature and scope of its work:

(1) It issues an educational bulletin service—three posters pack week, dealing with disease and accident prevention, suitable for posting on bulletins and advertising boards at railway stations, factories., tramoa’s, ole. One bulletin is issued each week for tbe executives, bringing to their attention I Ik- latest ami most efficient plans, methods, and ideas for getting the best results from sn work. ° (2) It maintains an bureau and libvai’v for nil pharos ni pafely v.oik, tat ion. industrial bvgicne. _ and other brambes of industrial rebitions. (3) Ji issues sam ’irad ice ’pamphlet' once a mouth, containing engineering studies of industrial hazards. i , ifi) It loans safety mnti'in pmtures. Puns, and s tereoptienn slides for use at woikmen's safetv meetings and oilier occasions.

in) It aids in t organisation of State and local connciis in various parts of the country. These bw.Ti eonncib not only foster "and ,'ireiA the industrial accident prevention woik in tbeir localbv, but organise flic entire community. Besides there functions it condneG also an annual safely ion gross, where panels and discussions on all phases of rmeident prevention and industrial ie!. 1 1 nni.s are given by exp.’its. That the endeavors of such a mutual organisation as rh;s in any ivunlvy would produce satis,a,lory results it is reasonable to exped. When it is to be considered that fully 75 per cent, of an-cklont-s, are deemed preventah'e there appears scone even in firs Dominion tor a greater concentratod r!V >;(• to lower the •striking inei-lenee of accidents in ad sphere.'; of lire, and this it senns. more than reasonable can )-a accomplished bv the co-oncrcl" m of the industrial, social, and inedp’a! forte*. Dr 11, K. Mock, aiiMur M that interesting woik • ludiiftiT 1 ! Medicine and Surgery.' in an address delivered at the Health S’-rvice Fret ion :o (h-> Math Annual Safety Congress of the National Safe tv Council, ]'.j2o. staled, a? reported in the council's official publication, the ■ National Snfefv News.' as follows :—• •‘lt is very necessary that we co-ordi-nate the work of prevention and the work of reclaiming l!n> handicapped vxliniß of accident and disease. In some of our larged, industries' live safely or prevention work, the medical and surgical department, and the employment department have heiomo so closely coordinated that the three smwices together represent the human conservation movement in that indiislrv. In tho physical examination of employees with proper placement of the. handicapped, we have one of the host examples of prevemioii--preventioii of premature breakdown, prevention of injviry to the man himself, and prevention of ininrics to others caused by a dangerous fellow-employee. In a medical department where a high standard of medical and surgical service is rendered to Hie employees we have another 1 example 6f prevention —prevention of dangerous complications, of permanent deformities, and of death, I>v the rendering of early and proper medical or surgical care to the sick arid injured employees. In the (minim: of handicapped emivovccs alter they have recovered from their injuries, and their replacement on jobs where they can again bciome useful citizens with opportunity for advancement, wo have the third example of .prevention—-prevention of human wastage, of prematurely scrapping these handxnppod : in ether words, human salvage."