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Safety Moment
4

Safety Moment

Safety Moment

(OP)
This morning, I was in a meeting that was broadcast to our client via MS NetMeeting and the client could see what was on our wall projector at his desk in his office.  For the "Safety Moment", a staple at the beginning of all of our meetings, the following was written across the screen in large letters:  

"Be prepared for unavoidable dangers!"

I almost chuckled out loud...



If you "heard" it on the internet, it's guilty until proven innocent. - DCS

RE: Safety Moment

It sounds goofy, but really it's not.

There are dangers that you can't avoid, so the only thing you can do is prepare.  Hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes for example.

It's not like "Anticipate the unforeseeable!"

RE: Safety Moment

Maybe it should have said Hazards?

RE: Safety Moment

unotec,

whats the difference?

RE: Safety Moment

I used to work for a company that had stickers on the bathroom mirrors that read "Safety is not an option!".

I still find it funny how that can mean two very different things...

RE: Safety Moment

Sideswiper,

I love it, never thought of it that way.

I had a friend who used to think that way about all sorts of signs. a road sign next to an unstable cliff said "Falling rocks Do not stop" he wondered if they were referring to the rocks or your car.

RE: Safety Moment

clearly it would be dangerous to gather moss in an area prone to rolling stones...

RE: Safety Moment

Particularly if the rolling stones are playing really loud

RE: Safety Moment

My favorite sign is "Slow Children at Play". That isn't very politically correct to call the children slow is it?!

RE: Safety Moment

Yep, "Slow Children Crossing" is another good one.  

They better speed up or they'll get run over.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

I used to want to have a few signs made with "slow children" at the top and "at play" at the bottom (little kid icons in the middle), to make the humor more apparent... then I'd have switched out the neighborhood signs under the cover of darkness, and waited to see if anyone noticed

RE: Safety Moment

I've seen signs placed by homes where a family member has recently passed that read "Slow Death in Family".  I don't know how those ever got made, much less put in someone's yard.

RE: Safety Moment

holy cow.. that seems harsh (either way)  

"Look everybody, this is where the dead guy came from!  Is is wife still crying?  See if you can see inside!"


RE: Safety Moment

Australian road maintenance crews occasionally have one guy working as a traffic controller.  That means he has to stand around all day with a sign that says 'SLOW'.  I often wonder if there are workers who have to show the 'LACTOSE INTOLLERANT' or 'AFRAID OF COMMITMENT' signs.

On further reflection, I think that was actually a comedy skit on TV years ago

RE: Safety Moment

satchmo,

are there also signs saying "sudden death in family"?

RE: Safety Moment

Somewhere in my slide collection is a road sign from somewhere in rural England that says

Cats Eyes Removed Next 3 mi

It took me a while to understand whether to be on the lookout for blind pets or what....

RE: Safety Moment

"Slow Children at Play".

I always assumed that conversely, smart children were inside doing homework or reading books...

old field guy

RE: Safety Moment

Tenpenny,

Do you have any idea why they would do such a thing - how is the road meant to see you coming!

RE: Safety Moment

No.  They don't advertise the sudden deaths, just the slow ones.

I haven't seen one of those signs in a couple of years.  They've been replaced with ones reading "Quiet Death in Family".  A bit better I guess.

RE: Safety Moment

Warning signs on the rear windows of cars "Baby On Board".

Whats that all about?

Are we meant to be quiet? Should we turn our engines off in case we waken it up?

RE: Safety Moment

It is normally in a yellow diamond - means something in the US but doesn't mean anything in the UK.  If they wanted me to take notice, it should have been in a red triangle.  In fact, I ignore all yellow diamond shaped signs except for the route diversions.

At a guess it means erratic driver looking at baby through rear view mirror instead of observing traffic.  Like learner driver, may brake suddenly.

RE: Safety Moment

A place I used to work maintains its own ambulances and fire service.

Many years ago, the ambulance got called out to a road accident - a car had left the road outside the boundary fence and gone into a ditch.

They extricated the unconscious driver and took her to the local infirmary, before returning to the airfield to put a brew on.

They'd been back about 20 minutes when the ambulance dirver's sister, a nurse at the hospital A&E department, rang him to say that the driver had regained consciousness and was desperate to know where her baby was.

A quick trip back to the accident site followed.  This time, angry wailing sounds were coming out of the hedge from a baby who had slept through being thrown clear of the wreckage, but had since woken up and decided it was teatime.

First responders these days are all taught to make sure they've accounted for all the occupants of a crashed vehicle - but I suppose a "baby on board" sign acts as a useful reminder.

Having said all that, I do wish so many of them wouldn't use a green diamond with a picture of a baby's bottle on it - I think that's far too easily confused with a Cat 2 Hazard Diamond.

A.

RE: Safety Moment

I like the warning signs about "water ice" on bridges.  I can't think of any other naturally occuring ice that might be lurking on a road.

- Steve

RE: Safety Moment

Well, maybe a full nappy (diaper) in a green diamond would do double dooty.

RE: Safety Moment

Do people actually take those 'baby on board' signs out when the baby isn't on board?

I'd always assumed not and that hence they were of little or no worth.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

It started as a cutesy way of saying "drive carefully".  I.e., if you drive recklessly, the life you take may be that of a small child, and not just any hypothetical theoretical small child, but this particular small child right here (or sometimes right here) in the car in front of you, who has loving parents.

Once the novelty wore off, whatever safety effect the campaign may have had would have disappeared.

I think now it's devolved into a cutesy version of a "proud parent" bumper sticker.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies

RE: Safety Moment

I always thought they were to tip-off rescuers that they needed to look for parts in the back seat too?

RE: Safety Moment

Awww man, ivymike... terrible.

V


RE: Safety Moment

Ivy, even if it is to let them know they need an extra small body bag it's pretty pointless if people don't take them out when the baby isn't on board.

I suppose better to be safe than sorry, and look for a baby that isn't there than to not look for one that is but still, I think it dilutes any worth.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

sorry... most of my family works in medicine (hence the coarseness)

RE: Safety Moment

How about "Nagging wife on board".

Now that really could cause some erratic driving.

Seems to me to be a more useful warning sign than "Baby on board".

RE: Safety Moment

Or the subtle variation of 'back seat driver', or maybe 'Spousal navigation device in operation'.

I know some of my worst driving has been in response to last minute direction instructions.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

I lived in a gated community once, we were required to place "child rescue" decals on the windows of our children's bedrooms.  This was to alert the firemen to break-in and check these rooms first in the event of an emergency.  The logic, if there were small children, they may not be in a condition to egress on their own.

In reference to the yellow "Baby On Board" window-hangy things, they now represent extra points a la Death Race 2000. winky smile

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Safety Moment

Another interesting vehicle notice:

"Caution! Show horses"

I've seen this a number of times on horse trailers on the highway (not just an isolated incident). I always try to EXTRA careful when I know there are show horses and not just people or ugly horses that could be hurt or killed in an accident...

RE: Safety Moment

When I see the 'Baby on Board' signs, I always remember the comedy bit I either read or heard, where, on a hot sunny day, the protagonist noticed a car, with all the windows closed, and a 'Baby on Board' sign...so, to be safe, he smashed all the windows....didn't find any baby, but at least, if there had been one, it wouldn't have suffocated!!!!

RE: Safety Moment

Mad, interesting on the bedroom window thing.  Can't recall where but I'd received advice to not put anything in the window that makes it obvious it's a childrens room.  As I recall the advice was in regards to break - ins, especially if the motivation wasn't theft, if you catch my drift.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

So what does it mean to see a stuffed Garfield clinging by his suckers to the window?

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: Safety Moment

It means that driver is stuck in 1989.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Safety Moment

Q  favorite sign is "Slow Children at Play". That isn't very politically correct to call the children slow is  Q


'Slow children at play' eventually grow up and become 'slow men at work'

k

RE: Safety Moment


The acronym on the back of one company's employees hardhats was "YFNY" - your family needs you!  Pretty effective way to keep safety in perspective!

RE: Safety Moment

Ya'll -- in the USA at least -- have seen the
 REDUCED SPEED AHEAD road signs.

Would it be more correct to read, REDUCE SPEED AHEAD?

BTW, the question mark is part of the sentence but not part of the sign, just in case some crank (is joker more politically correct?) wants to twist my words.

This would particularly apply if coupled with the Slow Children sign.

Not sure what any of this has to do with engineering but it's  
almost as much fun.

RE: Safety Moment

The word LIMIT is omitted from many speed limit signs.  You'll see SPEED 55 (or what ever number).  Well, if you include the implied LIMIT, the reduced speed sign becomes REDUCED SPEED LIMIT AHEAD and that is actually what happens, not necessarily a change in traffic speed.  I guess they think it makes the signs too complex to have the word limit included on the sign.

RE: Safety Moment

Don't forget that part pof the information a road sign gives is determined by the shape and symbols so the message is augmented and duplicated in the mixture of text and symbols.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com

RE: Safety Moment

Oh boy ivy, that cracked me up

RE: Safety Moment

"Caution! Show horses"


What if you don't have any horses to show?

RE: Safety Moment

Private Sign
DO NOT READ

Seen in Northern New Hampshire

RE: Safety Moment

Last month, in a Montreal newspaper, a headline read:

"Jennings First Recipient of Black Achievement Award"

I think they did NOT think that through...

tg

RE: Safety Moment

On a step ladder I have at home;

"Do not step on or above the top step"

RE: Safety Moment

Quote:

When I see the 'Baby on Board' signs, I always remember the comedy bit I either read or heard, where, on a hot sunny day, the protagonist noticed a car, with all the windows closed, and a 'Baby on Board' sign...so, to be safe, he smashed all the windows....didn't find any baby, but at least, if there had been one, it wouldn't have suffocated!!!!
Good one!

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

RE: Safety Moment

I have spent hours in a traffic jam on the A31 in Southern England before.  The ultimate cause of the jam was an overhead sign that had the word "Congestion" lit up on it.  After the sign, the traffic cleared.

- Steve

RE: Safety Moment

Sounds like they were just following directions.

RE: Safety Moment

So in the US, what are you supposed to do when you drive into a 'deaf children area'?. Any suggestions?

RE: Safety Moment

Turn up the stereo?

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: Safety Moment

Turn on your HAZARD lights?

SomptingGuy;  The power of suggestion?  It even rimes!

RE: Safety Moment

A huge lit-up sign saying "Nothing to see here!" would cause a similar back-up.  It would probably cause the oncoming traffic to back-up to, rubbernecking.

- Steve

RE: Safety Moment

I always like to see "SPEED ZONE AHEAD"... Yippee! I get to drive really fast, just up ahead. smile

I printed my own copy of my favorite to hang on the end of my bookshelf at work... "DO NOT READ THIS SIGN".
Generated quite a few chuckles over the years. winky smile

RE: Safety Moment

Damscot,
saw a car the other day with a sign in  the back window saying:
"Babe on board."
Witty, but sadly the "babe" didn't live up to the advanced billing.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: Safety Moment

hmm... should've made her drive past a couple of the semis that say "leg inspection zone 60ft ahead" before getting the placard.

RE: Safety Moment

On the M25 (London Orbital) we have new electronic traffic information signs, not yet commissioned. At the moment they are blank. But there is a printed sign on them stating "SIGN NOT IN USE". It's good to know about these things, isn't it?

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