The U.S. has issued a warning for all young athletes after 10 young high schoolers have been killed in tragic accidents.
Two young athletes, a 16-year-old football player in Texas and a 15-year-old softball player in Kentucky, were pronounced dead this week. They dropped dead during practice, suffering apparent accidents while training.
Previously, four high school athletes were killed in sledding accidents following a major winter storm. Two others were killed in car accidents, while another two were killed in a train crash.
Driving safety rules remain paramount, especially in times of winter weather, like today:
- Stay home. Only go out if necessary. Even if you can drive well in bad weather, it’s better to avoid taking unnecessary risks by venturing out.
- Drive slowly. Always adjust your speed down to account for lower traction when driving on snow or ice.
- Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Apply the gas slowly to regain traction and avoid skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry and take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
- Increase your following distance to five to six seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
- Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
- Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
- Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads will just make your wheels spin. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill slowly.
- Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
Training safely is important, too, as is remembering how to do CPR:
- Put the person on their back on a firm surface.
- Place the lower palm of your hand over the center of the person's chest, between the nipples.
- Place your other hand on top of your first hand. Keep your elbows straight. Place your shoulders directly above your hands.
- Push straight down on the chest at least 2 inches (5 centimeters) but no more than 2.4 inches (6 centimeters). Use your entire body weight, not just your arms, when doing compressions.
- Push hard and fast in the center of the chest. You want to do 100 to 120 compressions a minute. The American Heart Association suggests doing compressions to the beat of the song "Stayin' Alive" or another song that has 100 to 120 beats a minute. Allow the chest to spring back after each push.
- If you haven't been trained in CPR, continue chest compressions until there are signs of movement or until emergency medical help takes over. If you have been trained in CPR, go on to rescue breathing.
Stay safe, everyone.