How long does it take to buckle a seat belt? 3-5 seconds. How long does it take to put a hard hat on or a helmet? 3-5 seconds. How long does it take to look both ways twice before turning left or right? 1-2 seconds. How long does it take to tell someone to stop texting when driving or to stop speeding? 1-2 seconds. How long does it take to look at the intersection before pulling out into it? 1-2 seconds. How long does it take to….?  You get the idea.

Sadly, we at KLH see too many serious injuries and deaths and often if  someone had just taken a few seconds either to not do something or to do something, that tragedy would never have occurred. Unfortunately, we are in a big hurry, always rushing around. We must learn to slow down, or take an extra moment to  stop and take that extra  breath, and use those few extra seconds to make sure that when we do something we are doing it as safely as possible. Is it a guarantee to never get hurt or killed? Of course not. But it is a guarantee that you are lessening your chances of a serious injury or death.

I am very sad and tired of seeing horrible outcomes to families when upon reflection and analysis it turns out that a few extra seconds of someone making sure all safety precautions have been taken would have made all the difference in the world.

So, take few extra moments, slow down or stop, take that extra deep breath, study things a little  more before reacting or responding and ask yourself during this time, is there any thing else I can do or learn before doing X?  That extra few seconds being as safe as possible, thinking first before doing something may just save a life.