R&R Insurance Blog

Anything that diverts your attention away from the main task of driving is a distraction. Basically, anything that takes your eyes/mind off the road or your hands off the wheel. This includes cell phone usage, eating, talking, listening to disruptive music, applying make-up, tending to children and navigation systems.

Not Just Texting – Any Cell Phone Usage Can be Deadly

Research has shown that the distraction caused by a phone conversation is the same for hands-free or hand-held cell phones. Even more distracting is the act of text messaging. Now illegal in most states (including Wisconsin), texting takes a driver’s eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. At 55 mph, this translates into 120 yards without looking at the road.

Manage Your Distractions

• Recognize that driving requires your full attention.
• Ask a passenger to place a call for you and, if possible, speak in your place.
• Do not compose, send or read text messages while driving. In Wisconsin, texting while driving is illegal.
• Ask passengers to help with directions or adjust dashboard controls.
• Secure loose items in the vehicle so they don’t become projectiles or distractions in a sudden stop or crash.
• Avoid intense, complicated or emotional conversations when driving.
• Pull over to care for children.
• Stop to eat or drink, rather than trying to eat or drink while driving.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Program your GPS prior to starting your trip.
• Allow plenty of time for your trip.

R&R offers a free Stop The Distraction Campaign Kit for Wisconsin Schools and families in an effort to help prevent distracted driving. Contact us for your free kit if you are located in Wisconsin. 800-566-7007.

As an independent insurance agency servicing dozens of public and private schools, and tens of thousands of families in Southeastern Wisconsin, we know first-hand how life can change in an instant. For 2013, we've put some muscle behind our campaign to help schools and families prevent distracted driving.

R&R Insurance Services is offering a free Prevent Distracted Driving Campaign Kit to any school, business or family in Southeastern Wisconsin. Our kit includes a poster, two window clings and a pledge card.

Unfortunately, many accidents occur and lives are lost due to something that can be prevented - Distracted Driving! Let's stay focused behind the wheel and focused towards a common goal to prevent distracted driving.

Request your FREE Stop The Distraction Campaign Kit today and help spread the word. We can work together to Stop The Distraction and Save A Life!

Lice in schools is an issue every fall. Read what experts say about prevention and solving the lice problem. This article from Chicago Tribune on October 12, 2011, lists some solutions.

In adition to treating head lice and eggs on a child's hair and scalp, parents should treat objects that may harbor the small parasitic bugs. The Illinois Department of Public Health recommends:

• Exposing lice and nits to temperatures above 125 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes is lethal. Most personal articles of clothing and bedding can be disinfested by machine washing in hot water or machine drying for at least 20 minutes using the hot cycle. Be sure to allow time between loads for water to reheat to the proper temperature.

• Place nonwashable personal articles of clothing or bedding in the dryer on high heat for at least 20 minutes, dry clean, or seal nonwashable fabrics in a plastic bag for a minimum of 10 days.

• Place combs and brushes in a pan of water and heat on a stove to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. If heating may damage combs or brushes, soak them for one hour in a phenol solution, such as Lysol. To prevent the spread of head lice, do not share combs, brushes, hats, coats, towels or other articles that come in contact with the head, neck and shoulders.

• Thoroughly vacuum or clean car seats, bus seats, and individual infant and car seats according to manufacturer's directions.

• Fumigating rooms and using insecticidal sprays on furniture and carpets are not recommended to kill head lice; thorough vacuuming of houses and rooms inhabited by infested persons is sufficient

This article recently appeared in Public School Risk Institute's Risk Central, written by Paul Timm. He offers an excellent list of questions at the end for administrators to consider in the prevention of another tragedy.

School Safety: Establishing Separation Policies and Procedures Can Save Lives
Paul Timm - March 03, 2011

Less than 30 days after the tragic shooting in January at a school in Omaha, Neb. – where a suspended high school student killed an administrator who had earlier disciplined him – another school administrator was shot and killed in Northern California.

Just like in Nebraska, the perpetrator – a custodian who had just been fired – was able to return to the elementary school and access the office of the administrator who had delivered the news of his dismissal.

In the first instance, the student actually signed the visitor registry before being granted access to the assistant principal’s office. In the second instance, the custodian simply walked right into the principal’s office.

These tragic incidents could have been prevented. But it shouldn’t take a tragedy on campus to be the impetus for school administrators to address separation policies and practices.

If you’re a school administrator reading this article, here’s a question for you: Have you taken steps to review and develop separation policies? If not, let me implore you to learn from the tragedies in Nebraska, Northern California, and far too many other places where school shootings have occurred.

Unfortunately, most effective security measures follow extensive losses. But as we all know, before an incident happens is the time to be proactive.

To start, ask yourself some questions:

• What are your separation procedures and how quickly are they implemented once an employee or student is asked to leave?
• How can a locked vestibule at the main entrance, or visitor management software, discourage or even prevent this kind of incident?
• What is the role of local law enforcement during and after separation procedures?
• For how long must the person who has been asked to leave stay away from campus (cooling off period)?
• Under what circumstances or arrangements will they be permitted to return?
• What are your short- and long-term recovery plans should an incident like this occur at your facility?

Answering these questions are the first steps in preventing a tragedy on your campus.

This article gives good advice on the subject of sexual molestation. This is a district's best defense for allegations in a particular molestation event. The best way that school personnel can protect themselves against harassment and sexual abuse allegations is to avoid scenarios with students that could be inappropriate, misunderstood or misinterpreted by students or staff.

Ten Tips to Preventing Sexual Harassment or Accusations For School District Staff

1. Never be alone with a student in your classroom, outside of the regular school day, without informing and/or seeking approval from your principal.
2. Never be alone with a student behind a closed door; keep your classroom door open during and after school or before school meetings. If your classroom does not have a window, ask for one to be installed or meet in a more open area.
3. Never make a habit of meeting students outside of school for a meal, coffee, soda, etc.
4. Never counsel your students in non-academic matters. Refer students who have questions, concerns, etc. to a guidance counselor, career counselor or social worker, etc.
5. Never transport students in your own vehicle or allow students to have access to your car.
6. Never give students hall passes to come to your classroom on non-school-related matters.
7. Never allow students to engage you in and do not offer advice in conversations regarding their romantic or sexual problems, concerns, fears, curiosities, etc. Don’t discuss your personal problems with students.
8. Never entertain students in your home unless it is a school-sponsored activity. Always have other faculty present. Never suggest that a student come to your house alone or be dropped off at your home.
9. Never make sexual comments or gestures about a student’s body, and don’t tell sexual jokes or display sexually suggestive images, videos, etc. in the classroom.
10. Never put your hands on your student in a manner that a reasonable person could consider as inappropriate under the circumstances or suggests something sexual, intimate, physically pleasing, etc. Examples include brushing up against the body; rubbing shoulders, necks, backs; hugging; tickling; wrestling; spanking; etc.

A portion of this content was taken from PreventionLink.
District administrators should contact Bill Hattendorf with R&R Insurance for more information.

Dan Larsen, Coordinator of Facilities and Operations with West Allis-West Milwaukee School District wrote a synopsis of playground safety January issue of the WSSCA (Wisconsin School Safety Association) that is worth your read. He also offers a few valuable links to assist with your playground safety efforts.

This ties in nicely with the upcoming Playground Safety Seminar offered through Liberty Mutual Group and Indiana Insurance. The April seminar, held in Madison, WI, is taught by certified playground safety inspectors and is free for principals, facility managers, maintenance directors and others responsible for ensuring playground safety.

Contact a School Practice Group Knowledge Broker to sign up for the seminar! It's free!

We saw a great article written by Russ Banhan of Independent Agent magazine, about personal and business exposures from the use of social media. Here's eight ways to reduce your exposure:

1. On Facebook and other social media sites, take advantage of the highest security settings and only allow "friends" - not "friends of friends" - to see your profile.

2. When creating a profile, choose a different year of birth than your actual one.

3. Be parsimonious with your "friendships": if you don't know the person in the real world, do not friend them in the cyber world.

4. Make sure that your friend really is who he/she says he/she is. Follow up your friend requests with an e-mail, text or phone call.

5. Make your children friend you. This enables you to watch them, and them to know that you're watching.

6. Don't post or tweet your location or when you're going to be any place specific, to reduce the chance of being burglarized.

7. Search for yourself using search engines like Google and people search sites like Pipl to find out what is being said about you, and then contact websites that have posted inaccurate or personal information to have it removed.

8. Consider investing in online repuatation management services that will monitor the Internet for information about you.

Information taken in part from an article by Russ Banham.

See also: Cyberbullying and Age-Based Guidelines For Children's Internet Use

Students at the local Greenland Elementary School in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin are learning how to combat bullying issues through CLIMB Theater. CLIMB (an acronym for Creative Learning Ideas for Mind and Body) performs interactive drama classes on the topics of bullying prevention for second, third and fourth graders.

CLIMB's program reached almost 200,000 students last year! Congrats to Oconomowoc Area Schools and CLIMB for addressing the hot topic of bully prevention in a new fun, creative and educational way. This Full story was printed in the Living Lake Country, Tuesday January 4, 2010.

For more information on CLIMB, visit: www.climb.org.

Municipalities, public schools and anyone employing "public sector" employees must complete an OSHA 300 log. The deadline is March 1 each year for public sector employers. Additionally, they are required to annually complete form SBD-10710 which is the same information that is on the OSHA 300A form. Unlike OSHA that requires completion of the log by companies that employ 10 or more employees, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce makes no distinction. Whether municipalities have 1, 100 or 1,000 employees, the log must be completed.

Global news is showing that bullying and cyber-bullying issues aren't just making national headlines - it's a serious problem on a global scale. In a recent article posted in DailyIndia.com, a Norwegian researcher indicates that two out of three children experienced bullying via the Internet or mobile phones on a regular basis, while twice as many girls as boys reported having being bullied digitally.