From Deseret News archives:
Danger, danger: Utah's rugged terrain invites disaster when you're not fit and prepared
Your horse could fall over on top of you, your ATV could flip or your car could crash.
"Home will be the most dangerous," says Cyndi Bemis, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health.
The list of pitfalls at home is seemingly endless from poisonings that occur because someone poured a dangerous liquid from one container into another, which used to hold a perfectly safe beverage, to leaving a child unattended in a bathtub, if only for a moment.
Gary Mower, the health department's injury prevention coordinator, has heard it all so much that he's quick to fire off a piece of advice that everyone should follow anywhere, any time.
"Try to anticipate how an injury or death might occur, and take steps to prevent it," Mower said.
"People don't realize how much damage that one mistake can do," Mower said.
Headlines pulled from the Deseret Morning News last August and September read: "11 died in Utah road crashes over the weekend" and "Deadly holiday: 10 die in 5 days on Utah's roads." In both news stories, drowsy driving and driver error were blamed for most of the wrecks.
"We preach and preach and have pitched major media campaigns, and people are still not driving smart," Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Ted Tingey said last September.
If skis and snowshoes are your preferred mode of transportation, you should know that the "Greatest snow on Earth" also may be the greatest danger in Utah's mountains.
Avalanches are the No. 1 cause of Utah deaths in the wild, with an average of four people being killed each winter season. Only Alaska and Colorado have more deaths by avalanches in the United States than Utah does.
"All of them are preventable," said Bruce Tremper, avalanche specialist with the U.S. Forest Service's Utah Avalanche Center.
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