Never heard the term, you say? It’s pretty common among EMS personnel, lifeguards and child activists when they talk about the small, lifeless bodies they see every summer lying by swimming pools or on beaches. That’s why so many dread the season. And so many work hard to make parents and caregivers understand the awful truth: A child can drown in 20 seconds or less.
How is that possible? The physiology is simple. People who are drowning hold their breath as long as they can. Then, they automatically breathe in. Water surges into the lungs and stomach, diluting the blood. The blood imbalance causes the heart to stop. The entire process takes 12 to 20 seconds from start to finish. First, there’s panic and a struggle to return to the surface followed by a period of calmness when the body lies limp in the water. Then, water is swallowed. There’s a terminal gasp. The victim falls unconscious and dies.
It’s a scenario that Attorney Jim Adler, a former lifeguard and water safety instructor, dreads. Adler, a member of the Joint City County Commission On Children in Houston and Safe Kids Coalitions in Houston and San Antonio is replacing some of his regularly scheduled TV commercials in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio this summer with a public service announcement about drowning to make sure that parents know the “cold, hard truth” to save their little ones from one of the quickest killers around.
By now, we all know it’s not healthy to be overweight. Medical reports rail against excess body fat, citing statistics that show even a few extra pounds can cause serious illnesses, from diabetes to heart ailments. Americans trying to stay healthy fight battles with their bathroom scales every day all over the United States.
But what about other people’s fat? Can it kill us too? Yes, according to sleep scientists at Harvard University. Their studies of the link between being overweight and sleep apnea have the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considering new rules to require screening of overweight truck drivers. Harvard scientists estimate that 28 percent of commercial truck drivers on U.S. highways suffer from mild or severe sleep apnea. The disorder shuts off airways, causing them to wake up dozens, even hundreds of times every night, leaving them generally fatigued and often, grievously sleep deprived. People with sleep apnea have a tendency to nod off during normal activities. A few seconds asleep at the wheel of an 80,000 pound truck rolling down the highway could easily be fatal to nearby drivers.
While the federal government is looking seriously at new rules to curb sleep apnea in overweight truckers, it has no deadline for implementing them. Supporters say the rules could help prevent the truck accidents that kill more than 5,200 people a year and injure another 100,000. Critics say the rules could idle up to 40 percent of the truckers on American roads. Meanwhile, successful treatments for sleep apnea include a device that supplies oxygen during the night and keeps airways open, leaving truckers with sleep apnea rested and ready to go.
A knock at the door rousts a woman out of bed. Her husband is off on his motorcycle doing an errand. One look at police on her front porch and she guesses the awful truth. He’s been killed. The man who hit him was drunk. A man driving his family to Mexico for a Christmas vacation is rear-ended at 90 miles an hour by a drunk driver. His wife and son are dead at the scene. His mother dies later.
A woman in a pickup truck is knocked off a freeway overpass in the dark by a drunk driver and left to die in a ditch. Her husband and son find her body two hours later when she doesn’t come home.
Accidents like these occur every day. Those grieving for loved ones killed by drunk drivers say the pain never ends. That’s where Mothers Against Drunk Driving steps in. MADD offers them a range of services, from money for groceries and funeral expenses to accompanying families to court during legal proceedings against drunk drivers that can last for months, and sometimes, years. The money in Texas comes from a state fund for victims. MADD can access it in three to five days, according to the Director of Victim Services in MADD’s San Antonio office.
“MADD is an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold,” says Jennifer Hathaway, another MADD executive in Texas, describing the services the organization provides to those who have lost loved ones to drunk driving anywhere in the country. Staffers at MADD are trained to help victims with all aspects of a drunk-driving crash as long as they are needed. Contact the Victims Helpline at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Attorney Jim Adler, who has represented victims of drunk drivers for more than 30 years, is a strong supporter of the one organization entirely devoted to helping victims of drunk drivers. Jim Adler & Associates is underwriting a video to make more people aware of the services that MADD offers drunk driving accident victims.
On the morning of June 10, 2009, a blowout on a Houston freeway triggered a cascade of events that could have been fatal for the drivers involved. A blowout caused an 18 wheeler to jackknife and slam into two cars. Miraculously, all the drivers walked away unhurt; even the driver of the pickup truck with the tire that suddenly failed. There’s a lesson in the accident for all drivers. They can be in serious danger in the blink of an eye.
According to experts, most accidents happen in two seconds, barely enough time for drivers to react to the danger. But they agree that vigilance saves lives. They urge drivers not to talk on cell phones, send text messages, and eat or drink while driving. Drivers who need to engage in any of these seemingly harmless activities should pull over and park.
In 2007, 41,059 people died in accidents on American roads according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those between the ages of 21 and 24 had the highest fatality rate. Those between the ages of 16 and 20 had the highest rate of injuries. Statistics show that teen drivers are three times as likely to get into a fatal accident as others. Yet these are the drivers who frequently text, talk, eat and sometimes “dance” behind the wheel to the upbeat sounds of a favorite rock band while driving. Parents need to make their teens aware that accidents happen in seconds.
“Stay alert and stay alive.” It’s a good motto on the road anytime for every age. Combined with defensive driving techniques, vigilance pays off.
Never heard the term, you say? It’s pretty common among EMS personnel, lifeguards and child activists when they talk about the small, lifeless bodies they see every summer lying by swimming pools or on beaches. That’s why so many dread the season. And so many work hard to make parents and caregivers understand the awful truth: A child can drown in 20 seconds or less.
By now, we all know it’s not healthy to be overweight. Medical reports rail against excess body fat, citing statistics that show even a few extra pounds can cause serious illnesses, from diabetes to heart ailments. Americans trying to stay healthy fight battles with their bathroom scales every day all over the United States.
A knock at the door rousts a woman out of bed. Her husband is off on his motorcycle doing an errand. One look at police on her front porch and she guesses the awful truth. He’s been killed. The man who hit him was drunk. A man driving his family to Mexico for a Christmas vacation is rear-ended at 90 miles an hour by a drunk driver. His wife and son are dead at the scene. His mother dies later.
On the morning of June 10, 2009, a blowout on a Houston freeway triggered a cascade of events that could have been fatal for the drivers involved. A blowout caused an 18 wheeler to jackknife and slam into two cars. Miraculously, all the drivers walked away unhurt; even the driver of the pickup truck with the tire that suddenly failed. There’s a lesson in the accident for all drivers. They can be in serious danger in the blink of an eye.
