During nine films that extend over more than 50 years, not once the Leatherface horror film icon takes on reasonable chainsaw safety precautions. This may not be surprising given the slasher … Other habits, but with the frightening season officially here, even the normally sensible people tend to be cautious in the wind with a chainsaw in their hands.
Between 2018 and 2022, nearly 130,000 people visited hospital emergencies for injuries related to these effective but powerful tools. After having examined these statistics and others in two sets of data accessible to the public, the researchers identified some key observations in a study published in the journal Security.
“The average person does not realize how dangerous the chainsaws are,” said Judd Michael, agricultural and biological engineer of Penn State, in a recent interview concerning his team’s surveys.
Unsurprisingly, Michael and his colleagues have discovered that occasional users are a lot More likely to injure themselves than professionals when using tools. Of these 130,000 visits to reported, only 202 could be directly linked to the work of professional chainsaw. The rest came across those that the researchers nicknamed “Warriors weekend”. The reasons for this gap are probably quite simple: most of the professionals receive at least one safety training during employment and use personal protective equipment, unlike amateurs. As for the injuries themselves, most of the cuts and fractures have occurred to the members exposed.
For protection, a proven material designed to stop the balls can also help here.
“Chainsaw users should wear Kevlar guys to protect themselves, as well as helmets, gloves and eye protection,” suggested Michael. “And before venturing into a wooden plant or a forest with a chainsaw, they should take the time to receive training.”
Penn State offers his own videos to keep informed people, including one on specific chainsaw safety advice and another on protective equipment options. Regardless of the injury or origins of a death, the awareness of the situation is crucial to keep in mind whenever you are about to achieve a saw.
“Recognition of dangers – both saw and about objects – is one of the most important lessons that a Sawyer can learn,” said Michael.
Regarding Leathface’s weapon of choice – the tool itself is in fact much less deadly than you think.
“Statistics show that most victims are injured with cuts and injuries open to the sawt teeth,” he said. “But most of the deaths were caused by the chainsaw itself, but by trees or members falling on the victims who used one.”
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