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SALT LAKE CITY -- Safety advocates say the days of summer activities are also the days of so many unintentional injuries and deaths in Utah. To Stay Safe, specialists recommend "Safety 101" for the "Critical 101."
Overexertion
Overexertion led one woman trying to get back into shape into rehab instead. "My knee kind of slipped. I went down on the floor, and that was it. It's totally affected my life," Mary Werner said.
Werner ignored doctors' Safety 101 advice: start out easy, and that applies to shaping up yourself or the yard. "If I would have been smart and taken it easy, instead of pushing myself, I think I could have prevented my injury," Werner said.
Falls
Emergency room doctors say falls are the leading cause of injuries for almost every age, especially older people.
Their Safety 101, according to LDS Hospital's Craig Marsden: "The dim hours are always unsafe, so turn the light on. Don't worry about waking your spouse or whoever, you need to see if you're gonna get up and use the restroom at night."
Distracted driving
Distracted driving is a factor in 80 percent of all crashes. The most recent example: the driver that plowed into a 7-year-old's bedroom Wednesday morning because she was reaching for a cup.
Safety 101: Pull over whether talking or texting. A new Utah law makes it illegal to drive and text.
Teen driving
Finally, teen driving gets a category all its own because teen drivers represent 25 percent of traffic fatalities but only 16 percent of the population.
Safety 101: parents need to coach their young drivers.
These tips and others could prevent hundreds of serious injuries over the next 101 days. "All types of activities that occur during that period of time, safety has to be a primary consideration during the summer period," said Robert Parenti, with the Utah Safety Council.
For more information on National Safety Week and the Utah Safety Council's "Critical 101 Days," CLICK HERE.
