Kansas Health and Physical Education Association
December, 19358

Vols VIII

Bulletin No. 3

SAFETY EDUCATION

By

F. P. Helm, M. Ds, Secretary, “Kansas State Board of Health
Guest Editor

The importance of safety education can-
not be emphasized too strongly, since
accidents have become one of the leading
causes of death in Kansas and in the na-
tion,

Safety experts divide the means for
accident prevention into the three B's --
Engineering, Enforcement and Education,
Of these, in my opinion, Education is
the most important, Engineering may be
employed to eliminate all the physical
hazards of the highway, and, although the
removal of natural hazards will reduce
accidents, there will always be injuries
and deaths due to human carelessness, so
long as motorists persist in dangerous
speed, in passing cars on hills and curves,
and other foolhardy driving practices.
Enforcement of traffic laws, designed to
protect us from our own folly, will tend
to reduce accidents -= but, it is impos-
sible to provide sufficient police offic-
ers to watch us all, all the time, on the
highways. As for passing and enforcing
laws for home safety -=- that, obviously,
is impossible; and it is in our homes’....
that the majority of fatal accidents oc-
cure. It is apparent, then, that we must
depend mainly upon education, as a means
of accident prevention,

The logical and most fertile field for
safety education is in our schools. The
ancient adage, "You can't teach an old
dog new tricks", applies very well to the
education of adults in accident preven-
tion. We are creatures of habit -- good
or bad. A few adults will be alert cnough
to correct careless habits in diving,
walking and other activities of everyday
life. The majority of adults, however,
will go on doing the same old careiess
things which invite disaster, Then, when
the tragedy occurs, many friends of the
victim, instead of learning a lesson
by his example may say, "Well, that is
sad, but accidents will happen," and per~
haps sustain a similar injury from the
same CAUSE,

If we would obtain good results, we
must concentrate our efforts in the teach-=
ing of safety in our schools,: Children
learn readily, they are amenable to dis-

cipline, they are forming their habits,
they are interested in knowing "why"
certain things must be done in a certain
way, and are convinced by a reasonable
explanation,

If children were taught automobile
driving in schools, and restrained from
driving cars until they had passed their
school courses, regardless of age, we
should have many less automobile deaths
and injuries in this age group. Parents,
unfortunately, are very negligent in
giving their sons and daughters proper
instruction in safe driving. Parents
also fail to make the privilege of driv-
ing the family car dependent upon safe
driving at all times, Fathers and mo-
thers, instead of upholding the law
enforcement agencies, when they are try-
ing to inflict penalties for reckless
driving, will usually try to have driv-
ing licenses restored to their children,
or will try to block the enforcement of
some other punishment for dangerously
careless driving,

It is evident that we must teach home
safety in our schools, in order to re-
duce this type of accidental injuries,
Children can be taught the hazards ord-
inarily found in homes, and they will
search their own homes for these hazards,
with the result that many of them will
be removed. By such simple methods as
this, many painful and fatal injuries
will be prevented. The younger genera-
tion, who form safe habits of living,
will teach their children safety, not
only by precept, but by example -= and
it is at.such a future time only, that
we may look forward to a drastic reduc-
tion in accidental deaths,

Industry has lighted the way in ac-
cident prevention. Every large organiza-
tion has its safety engineer, who is
responsible, not only for the eliminas
tion of physical hazards, but in seeing
that enployes abide by certain safety
rules. In farming, however, where no
safoty supervision is possible, we have
more accidental deaths than in any other
form of occupation. Teaching safety in
the rural schools would undoubtedly