Safety

Your outraged editorial (Dec. 23) about the 55 m.p.h. speed limit missed the point pretty badly, but then so do most articles about risk. (And this has nothing to do with the fact that Congress was swayed by the fact that the limit is vastly unpopular, and we are a democracy--a point you chose to overlook.) The real point is that there cannot be a world without risk, so the only meaningful question anyone can ask is whether the risk is too high for what we get out of the risky activity.

Ray and Paula Mays installed a pool three years ago for themselves but knew that it could provide good exercise for their dog, a 7-year-old German short-haired pointer now joined by a 15-month-old Great Dane. "Now they use it more than we do," Ray says. The couple certainly aren't alone, if the growing prevalence of water toys, life vests, pool ramps and other paraphernalia specifically for water-loving dogs is any indication.

TREE * A healthy tree should not lose green needles when you tap it on the ground. * Cut 1 inch off the trunk to help it absorb water. * Leave the tree outside until ready to decorate. * The stand should hold at least 1 gallon of water. * A 6-foot tree will use 1 gallon of water every two days. * Mix a commercial preservative with the water. * Check the water level daily. * Secure the tree with wire to keep it from tipping.

The California Department of Fish and Game recommends the following steps for anyone entering mountain lion country or coming into contact with a lion: Do not hike alone. Groups are safer. Keep children close to adults and always within sight. Observations of captured lions suggest they are drawn to children. Do not approach a lion. Most will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a route of escape. Do not run away. Running may stimulate a lion's instinct to chase.

The nation's cruise ship industry, in a turnaround from its long-standing position that no additional government oversight is needed, endorsed proposed federal safety legislation Monday, paving the way for increased security measures on cruise ships. Cruise Lines International Assn., the industry's chief lobbying and advocacy organization representing 24 member cruise lines, sent a letter of support to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), one of the bill's sponsors.

Apparently, the logic behind the parental admonition to “eat your dinner because children in Africa are starving” doesn’t apply to vaccines as well. A recent survey found that many parents in the U.S. can’t shake their concern about the safety of childhood vaccines – even though most do proceed with the immunizations. Meanwhile, health professionals are pleading for money to expand vaccination programs for children in other parts of the world. To that end, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization is calling together donors on Monday in London.

In another serious blow to Toyota, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday morning that is opening a formal defect investigation of the 2010 Toyota Prius, examining allegations that the hybrid vehicle momentarily loses braking when it goes over uneven roads or hits potholes. The investigation, launched after the agency had received 124 reports from consumers, is another blow to Toyota's eroding reputation for quality and safety. It comes after the company was forced late last month to suspend sales and production of its most popular vehicles because of defects that could cause sudden acceleration.

Susan Spano was wrong in her April 29 column ("Kauai Killings Remind Women That Avoiding Danger Is Up to Them," Her World). Happily, she was not dead wrong. In her timely cautionary tale, she alerts readers that, even on magnificent Kauai, paradise is getting lost. However, I take issue with her closing thought that "my safety is no one's responsibility but my own." In a world becoming increasingly irresponsible, it's nice that Spano bucks that trend. But under her reasoning, if she's standing on a sidewalk and a car jumps the curb and hits her, that's her responsibility too. That the tourism folks on Kauai were putting money before life and safety was unconscionable.

Responding to two deadly derailments, Omaha-based Union Pacific Railroad has dispatched more managers to Texas and organized safety meetings with train crews as they report to work. There have been five derailments in San Antonio since May. The increased safety measures were adopted after a train car smashed into a warehouse, killing one man and injuring another; in June, two trains collided, killing three people.

Though Metrolink has made many safety improvements, a year after the devastating Chatsworth crash, it is still far from completing three major recommendations from a panel of experts, officials reported Friday to the commuter rail's governing board. The public agency has not undertaken a thorough assessment of its management organization or completed a strategic plan, and its board of directors has not gone though a self-assessment of its performance, said Linda Bollinger, facilitator for the peer review panel set up in the wake of the Chatsworth crash that killed 25 and injured 135 one year ago. "Frankly, a lot of the one-shots that are the easy things -- filling positions -- have been done," said Peter Cannito, retired president of Metro-North Railroad in New York, who co-heads the panel.