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Archive
issue
Sept. 25, 2000
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Lifestyles
Knowing
vehicle can prevent driving accidents
LCC offers children's travel program to youth parents
Tips can
help guard against virus attacks
Knowing
vehicle can prevent driving accidents
Despite
advances in automobile safety technology, the driver makes the biggest
difference.
In the last third of the 20th century, numerous vehicle safety features
and regulations have made driving safer. Emergency brakes, horns, headlights,
hazard lights, passenger restraint belts, windshield wipers/washers and
heater/defrosters are required standard equipment on all automobiles and
have made them safer and easier to drive. As more and more vehicles use
our highways, it is not surprising that, in spite of safety improvements
traffic accidents and related deaths and injuries are still all too common.
While the basic steering, power train and braking systems are similar
in most vehicles, many have different locations for the operating controls
for these driver-applied pieces of equipment. The hood release and emergency
brake release may have a similar design but may not be adequately separated
to avoid mistakenly opening the hood instead of releasing the emergency
brake. Switch locations for hazard lights, headlights, high-low beams
selector and instrument lights may be in various locations within the
driver compartment. Seat belt application and release equipment often
work differently between manufacturers or even different models from the
same manufacturer. Even the horn button may be located in different areas
of the steering wheel. Design variation may give a car a distinctive look,
but it can be dangerous when a driver needs to use safety equipment immediately
and instinctively.
The company car
Each of us is aware of the position of such safety devices on the automobile
we drive during our daily commute to work but what about the vehicle operated
at work or the one we may rent for a special trip? The location of many
of the safety devices may be different from what we are accustomed to
dependent upon the make, model or age of the vehicle. The problem is acerbated
if the vehicle we drive at work is used only occasionally.
To help you avoid becoming a highway statistic, take time to become familiar
with your vehicle¹s safety equipment before leaving the parking area.
If one is available, study the operator¹s manual to identify and locate
the various emergency equipment operating knobs, switches and levers.
If a manual is not available, locate the headlight switch, the light dimmer
switch and the interior light switch, applying them several times to become
familiar with their location and operation. Know where the windshield
wiper switch is located and how it works. Locate the windshield washer
switch and become familiar with its location and operation. This may be
a good time to find out if there is any fluid in the windshield washer
reservoir. Become familiar with the location and application of the horn
button. Apply and release the seat belt restraint device several times
to become acquainted with how to properly connect and release the belt.
Be sure to distinguish between the hood release lever and the emergency
brake release. Remember to buckle-up; it is the law in Kentucky.
Following these few vehicle safety tips and using good safe driving habits
should increase your odds of arriving at your destination alive and well.
Bob
Cadle
Occupational Health and Safety
LCC
offers children's travel program to youth parents
All first through eighth graders
are invited to participate.
Lexington Community College recently introduced Educational Field Trips
for Children, the newest addition to the LCC Children¹s Program.
Designated for all children in grades one through eight, the program provides
educational trips to area attractions on days when public and private
schools are closed for records/conferences or professional development
days. The one-day programs, which depart from the LCC Cooper Drive Campus,
include lunch and supervised activities from 7:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The
cost varies depending on the destination.
The program, which took its first trip Aug. 25 with a visit to the Cincinnati
Zoo, will offer the following trips during the 2000-01 academic year:
€ Oct. 6: Louisville Museum/Louisville Slugger Factory
€ Oct. 9: Newport Aquarium
€ Oct. 13: Cincinnati Museum
€ Oct. 27: Cincinnati Zoo
€ Nov. 2: Newport Aquarium
€ Nov. 7: Fort Harrod/Kentucky History Museum
€ Nov. 24: Mammoth Cave
Information on additional trips and registration can be obtained by contacting
the LCC East Campus at 257-2692, ext. 232, or by visiting the LCC Web
site at www.uky.edu/lcc/ccp.
Julie Wiedmer
Tips
can help guard against virus attacks
You may have noticed
that the last few virus warnings have mentioned files with two "extensions,"
like "loveletter.txt.vbs" and "life_stages.txt.shs."
Windows needs file extensions in order to know what program to open for
a particular file. If you do not have file extensions visible, you can
identify Microsoft Word documents by their icons. With file extensions
visible, you can see that Windows actually identifies word documents because
they end in .doc. If the .doc were removed from the end of the file name,
that file¹s icon would change to a white box with a Windows icon inside
because Windows no longer knows what to do with the file.
Files ending in .vbs, .shs, and .exe can be very dangerous files, often
containing viruses. If you are unsure of the nature of an attachment,
ask the sender what it is before opening it.
It is a good idea to display file extensions so that you can see what
type of files you¹re getting as attachments. To do that, follow the steps
outlined below.
1. Double-click on My Computer.
2. From the View menu, choose Options.
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Click the radio button next to "Show All Files" so that it is filled.
5. Click the checkbox next to "Hide file extensions for known types" so
that it is empty.
6. Click OK.
To learn more about extensions, see www.cert.org/incident_notes/IN-2000-07.html.
For regular virus updates and information, visit www.uky.edu/
helpdesk/database/virus.html.
Cindi Trainor
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