Short messages on Personal safety issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
You are more than twice as likely to die in a fire at home if you haven’t got a working smoke alarm. Buying a smoke alarm could help save your home and the lives of you and your family.
Smoke alarms are self-contained devices that incorporate a means of detecting a fire (smoke detector) and giving a warning (alarm). They are about the size of a hand and are normally fitted to the ceiling. They can detect fires in their early stages and give you those precious minutes to enable you and your family to leave your house in safety.
If you are unsure or worried about the safety of a child, young person or vulnerable adult, please contact your local Police or Social Work Services or telephone the National Child Protection Helpline 0800 022 3222.
In the UK each year there are around 50,000 (140 a day) house fires, which kill nearly 500 and injure over 11,000 – many which could have been prevented if people had an early warning and were able to get out in time.
Driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs doesn’t just put the driver’s life in danger – it’s also all the passengers, the drivers and passengers of other cars, cyclists, and anyone walking on the pavement.
If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 to speak to a trained operator who will take all the details and advise on action – either for you to do or they may send an engineer to investigate. The service operates free callout throughout the UK*. Don’t flip electrical switches, and do turn the gas off at the meter if you can.
In a car crash you are twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seatbelt. Drivers with no seatbelt face on-the-spot fines of £60. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.
When driving, hitting a child at 18mph outside a school is the equivalent of them falling out of their bedroom window. At 27mph it’s the 3rd floor window.
Each year 1000 people are seriously injured by fireworks. Most injuries are to the hands and face which can require skin grafts. Sparklers reach 2000°C.
Planning a night out: get a lift home, have taxi money put aside, have an emergency number, always stay with someone. Know your limits.
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