Planning a camping trip? If this is your first time to go camping, then you’re in for a lot of new experiences, hopefully nothing dangerous or traumatic. To help you plan your camping trip, here are some camping tips you could easily manage on your own.

Make a list

List everything from food and drinks, personal toiletries, money, safety gear like flashlights and batteries, and beddings. Look around your house and write down what you cannot do without. You can trim down the list slowly. The point is to start gearing your mind towards a few days outdoors with no home comforts.

Lay of the Land

When you get to the camping grounds, hopefully you still have daylight. Go over the grounds and choose your spot. Make sure there is a slight slope in case of rain; you won’t find yourself in the middle of a puddle. You should also check for sharp items on the ground like glass, pebbles, or even branches. These could tear your tent or give you and pretty uncomfortable sleep.

If there is wind, you might want to set up camp near some wind breaker like plants or shrubs.

Fire Hazards

If you plan to do some cooking, never start a fire near anything that could catch fire like trees or plants. If a strong wind blows, it could direct the flames to something that could catch fire. Also, never leave the fire unattended. If there is some place you need to go to in a hurry, put out the fire, and make it’s out. You can always relight when you get back.

Who’s in Charge?

If you are travelling with a group, make sure there is a designated leader that everyone trusts and will follow. You should also find the person in charge of the camping grounds, and get his mobile number in case of an emergency.

Recycle and Dispose Properly

It is your duty to dispose of your trash properly. This means segregation and proper disposal. Thus, bring along several trash bags of different colours to help you segregate. Do not assume that the camping grounds personnel will help you with your trash. In fact, you could be fined a big penalty for improper disposal.

You need to leave the camping grounds in the same or better condition than when you arrived. This is just the way it should be, so that you know when you return, you can expect the camping grounds to be in good condition also.

Demas & Rosenthal remains one of Sacramento’s most highly respected and accomplished personal injury law firms. We’ve been successfully representing clients since our firm first opened its doors back in 1993. Every Demas & Rosenthal attorney takes pride in obtaining the full compensation and complete justice owed to every client.

If you walk your children to the school bus stop and wait until they’re safely seated before leaving, you may think you’ve done your job. In fact, school buses are almost eight times safer for children than privately driven vehicles. Nevertheless, other accident statistics indicate that we must take a closer look at the school bus safety issue. In its most recent report entitled, “Traffic Safety Facts: 2006 Data,” See the PDF document link at: click here. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that between 1996 and 2006, there were 1, 387 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes that were “school transportation-related.” Although about 140 people die in such crashes each year, most of the fatalities involve the passengers in the privately driven cars.

Still, close to nine children riding in school transportation vehicles died each year between 1996 and 2006. Numerous school-age pedestrians, age 19 or younger, have
also lost their lives by coming into contact with school buses. About half of these young pedestrians who died were between the ages of five and seven.

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These statistics clearly indicate that whether we are parents, caregivers, teachers, general pedestrians or drivers, we must provide children with plenty of safety rules and suggestions. Likewise, we must carefully monitor our own driving and walking behavior when we’re near school buses.

The following suggestions are made with all school-age children in mind:

(See this link)

• Remind your children to never push and shove when boarding a bus. They need to walk calmly and carefully, boarding or exiting the bus one at a time. They should always wait for the driver’s signal that they may board or disembark. Also, they should try to arrive at their bus stops at least five minutes early to avoid rushed attempts to board. Once on the bus, children must remember to never engage in any rough play or throw objects at one another.
• Be sure your children use the handrails when boarding or exiting a bus. That way, should another child be pushing or shoving others, they’ll be less likely to fall down. Kids should always wait for the driver to make a complete stop before even thinking about standing up and exiting the bus.
• Children need to be told that the most dangerous areas around a school bus are those just behind the bus and on both sides, closer to the front of the bus. Kids should never step out into the street from between parked cars or from behind nearby bushes since this may further prevent drivers from seeing them in time to stop.
• As tempting as it is to all of us to take shortcuts, remind your children to always cross the street in a crosswalk, if one is available, and at a corner.
• Tell your children to remain seated at all times and to keep their belongings just below them. Putting anything out in the aisle may prove dangerous.
• Remind children to immediately go and tell the driver if they have dropped something near the bus so the driver won’t accidentally hit them when they are bending over to pick it up and out of view. Be sure your kids have backpacks or other items in which they can carry all of their school books, supplies and lunches. Make sure their carry-on items don’t have anything hanging off them that could cause them to get caught in a bus doorway or elsewhere.
• When a school bus stop is located in a particularly dangerous location, ask the school district if it might be moved someplace nearby — perhaps closer to a reputable store, place of worship or other safe gathering place.
• Remind children to never start walking as soon as the driver tells them it’s safe to disembark from the school bus. They must always look for themselves to be sure that there are no cars on the shoulder near the curb or on the street side of the bus.
• Children should walk at least five big steps out in front of the bus, catching the driver’s eye and waiting for his or her signal that it’s safe to cross the street, before they begin to do so. Next, young people should always personally look to both the left and the right to be sure the road is clear of all vehicles before crossing. Children should always keep their eyes on vehicles while still crossing the street. They need to be reminded that just because most drivers are adults, they may still not look carefully for pedestrians because they are often distracted by their passengers, traffic lights, cell phones and other items.

If we will share each of these warnings and explanations with our children, we should be able to dramatically decrease the number of kids who are annually harmed, both as riders and pedestrians, in school bus accidents or fatalities. Having represented many children in California who have been injured in different motor vehicle accidents, we hope you will never to call our offices for possible representation.

If you grew up in a typical American neighborhood, you probably spent at least one summer flying down the sidewalks of your neighborhood on a skateboard. When you’re too young to drive, sidewalk surfing can seem like the next best thing.

Unfortunately, skateboarding has become a dangerous past-time for far too many. kids and teens. According to a U. S. Product Safety Commission report, approximately twenty-six thousand (26,000) people are annually treated in emergency rooms for injuries sustained while skateboarding. Children under the age of fifteen incur more than half of those injuries. Beginners are most at risk: those who have been skateboarding for less than one week account for nearly one-third of all of the injuries. Read more about skateboarding safety.

Parents must take note of these alarming statistics and make sure their sons and daughters wait to begin riding skateboards until they have:

• developed a good sense of balance,
• become willing to accept close adult supervision while mastering many of the most basic skills and
• made a sincere commitment to always wear a helmet and other protective gear.

The following list of precautions should help parents prepare their children for skateboarding experiences:

• Riders must always wear a protective helmet, gloves and knee pads. They’ll also need sturdy, rubber-soled shoes that provide plenty of traction
  Skateboarders must make sure they properly maintain all parts of their skateboard. Only the best substances should be used to clean or wax a skateboard. If safety strips are wearing away, they should be immediately replaced to prevent an unnecessary fall or head injury.
• All children and teens should be regularly reminded to never try and imitate the stunts they see more advanced skateboarders perform on TV or at local skate parks.
  Children should never ride their skateboards in traffic or in a parking lot. When riding down a residential sidewalk, skateboarders must constantly be on the lookout for cars preparing to exit or enter a nearby driveway. Furthermore, no child should ever try to “hitch a ride” on a car by grabbing hold of it and then trying to sail effortlessly down the street holding onto it.
• When parents believe their children are ready to ride their skateboards without adult supervision, they should be instructed to carry along their cell phones so they can summon help via 9-1-1 if anyone in their group should sustain a serious injury.
• Always discourage neighborhood skateboarding after dark. It’s really only safe if it’s done at a well lit and fully supervised local skateboard park. Also, kids should never tried to ride their skateboards in inclement weather.
• Make sure the length, width and weight of your child’s skateboard is proper for his or her size. Serious accidents can occur when kids ride skateboards that are too large or heavy for them to maneuver.
• Insist that you or another responsible adult be present throughout the first months of your child’s skateboard learning curve. After that, make sure they always ride with at least one friend so they can help one another in case of an accident.

If you follow all of the suggestions listed above, you should be able to protect your children from many of the most serious skateboarding injuries.