That cold time of
year is coming. I recently spent a few hours laying in a cord of split oak for
the winter here in North Florida. People do not think of Florida as a place
that has winter, and frankly we do not have that much of it. As a result
though, we seem to have a hard time coping with it. November saw temperatures
in the thirties. We just aren't built for that here.
Last winter we
had an ice storm. No, not what people north of the Mason-Dixon (or perhaps
north of Interstate 10 even) would call an ice storm, but an ice storm
nonetheless. It was nothing like the havoc that occurred in Atlanta and surrounding areas. It was an ice storm in name only here in Florida.
It melted very rapidly except on the bridges; however, we have a great many
bridges.
City officials in
one town were perplexed by the iced bridges. After meetings to discuss the
complex problem of ice on roads, they emerged unable to conceive of any
available resources that might alleviate slipperiness, so they just closed the
bridges. Police cars were stationed at the bases of each, engines running,
lights flashing, overtime-paid. The only conceivable solution was not to
venture onto the ice. Days passed.
Another thing we
have in abundance in Florida is an abrasive that has been successfully used on
ice forever up north. People who live in the north are familiar with sand and
its ice-remedying properties. Not in Florida; sand never occurred to them here.
With the bridges closed, the pressure mounted to find a solution other than the
city's initial thought of "let's pay the police overtime to sit on the
bridge approaches until it just melts."
Alas, they never
thought to apply sand. Instead, they eventually brought out a street
sweeper with a rotating brush on the front and drove up and down the bridges
polishing the ice, while the police on overtime sat and watched. Apparently, no
Zamboni was available; the only vehicle that could have been more efficient at
ice-polishing. North Florida is just not equipped for the challenge of ice. Hopefully, we will not face such an onslaught again.
I was reminded of
that great Florida bridge closure of 2014 when I recently read that
"one-third of all Midwest workers' compensation claims that resulted in
time away from work last winter were caused by slips and falls on ice and
snow." More precisely, one-third of last winter's lost time claims
resulted from ice and snow. That was recently reported
by Businessinsurance.com. It notes that the frequency was "nearly
double the normal average, likely because of the extremely harsh weather
conditions."
It turns out that
ice is serious business for everyone, not just those of us here in the Sunshine
State. The article reports that "winter-related slips and falls claims
represented an average of 29% of all workers comp claims in five Midwest
states" last winter: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and
Wisconsin. The article mentions nearby states that also had tough winter
weather were "Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri." And these are all
states where ice and snow are an annual expectation, not a surprise.
I wondered why
they did not study Florida (just kidding). One carrier president did note that
though the Midwest was studied, "other regions also experienced their
share of icy conditions.” I would bet the folks in Atlanta, Charlotte,
and Raleigh would agree with that.
I suspect that
there were a fair number of falls in Florida because ice is just not something
we deal with very often; hurricanes we understand, ice not so much. Just as the
city with its ice-polishing street sweeper, I suspect that individuals in the
south are just as unprepared for ice. I wonder what contribution adverse
weather had on slip and fall injury rates in those southern states with less
experience and preparedness for winter weather, like Georgia and the Carolinas?
The point of the
study and the article was to raise awareness. Some safety recommendations are
made, including "walking slowly and wearing slip-resistant footwear, being
prepared for black ice, and not carrying items, as keeping hands empty leaves
arms free to move for stabilization." Essentially, the cautions are to
be aware, be careful, and pay attention.
At the end of the
day, that is probably good advice for the broad spectrum of risks we face at
work, at home, and in the world generally. That being said, it probably does not
hurt to remind ourselves of it once in a while. As the recent weather on the west coast reminds us, anything can happen, and sometimes with little notice. Let's be careful out there.
It's going to be a long cold winter.
