Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
With the New Year almost upon us, you may be thinking about New Year’s resolutions and about your plans for New Year’s Eve. No matter what your resolutions are, there are several things you can do right now to ensure you stay safer during the new year – and that might be the best resolution of all:
1) Have a plan to prevent drunk driving.
From New Year’s Eve all the way through the summer and into the fall, having a plan to prevent buzzed or drunk driving can save your life. Drunk driving accidents in Hollywood and across South Florida claim far too many lives each year, and these accidents are always preventable. Before you head out anywhere, put extra cash into a compartment of your wallet, contact three friends and arrange to be each other’s sober drive home at any time of the year, and install an app on your phone that lets you contact a taxi service when you need one. The more you do right now, the easier it will be to make the right decision if you’ve had too much to drink.
2) Resolve to get more sleep.
Fatigued driving in Hollywood and Florida is a serious concern, but lack of sleep may be hurting us in other ways, too. Fatigue has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, and other dangerous conditions. In addition, fatigue can increase your chances of workplace accidents and other types of injuries, since fatigue can affect your decision-making skills and your reaction times.
3) Get additional job training.
Workplace accidents in Hollywood and South Florida cause devastating injuries each year. Getting additional job training – especially safety training – can help you stay safer on the job. It could also potentially help you get better at your job, possibly qualifying you for other positions.
4) Take a driving refresher course.
If it’s been a while since you had driver training, consider a driving refresher course – this can cost less than $100 if you take a few classes with a professional instructor one-on-one – or a racing course. Improving your driving skills can help you save on insurance and can make you safer on the road.
5) Resolve to get in shape.
There’s a reason this is the most popular New Year’s resolution each year. As long as you get in shape safely, getting fit can decrease your chances of some diseases, can help you feel better, and may even be able to help you avoid certain types of sports injury and workplace injury. There’s even evidence it can help you keep your brain sharper and can help you prevent slip and fall or trip and fall accidents.
6) Write down when you should be checking your fire alarms and home safety systems.
It’s an easy thing to forget. Checking your fire alarms, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, your pool safety systems and your alarm system (if you have one) can fall by the wayside in a busy schedule. As you’re setting up your new calendars and planners for the year, write down a note to yourself to check the major safety systems in your life every three months. Seeing it in your planner makes it more likely you’ll check.
If you’ve been injured due to negligence, contact Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation. We look forward to serving you throughout 2016 from our offices in Homestead, Miami, and Hollywood.