American Red Cross Offers Safety Tips For Labor Day Weekend

Travel safety, water safety, and grill safety are three major areas to keep in mind

FARGO, N.D. — Before you jump into your Labor Day plans, make sure you always prioritize your well–being. The Red Cross says there several safety tips people should remember.

Jim Fitzpatrick calls himself a full-time “RV–er.” As someone who’s always on the road, safety is never far from his mind.

“I’m in a big motor home, and I tow a car behind me and I try to be very careful because another half hour’s not going to make a difference for me versus getting in a wreck and being wrecked for three days,” he said.

The Red Cross says when you’re on the road, don’t drive distracted or under the influence. Those are things Fitzpatrick makes sure he doesn’t do.

“I used to text and drive, and I don’t text and I don’t text and drive anymore. Too many people have gotten killed. If the phone rings when I’m driving I just let it go. There’s nothing that’s important enough that’s worth getting killed or killing somebody,” he said.

If you’re going swimming or headed to the lake, make sure you never leave kids unsupervised and if you’re on a boat, wear a life jacket.

If you’re going to be grilling, never leave the grill unattended and make sure you’re cooking in an open area.

“If you do the math of more people on the road traveling and more people in the water and more people cooking with grills than the mishaps that occur will unfortunately be higher,” Lynn Speral, CEO of the Dakotas region of the American Red Cross, said.

The Red Cross says one thing a lot of people are guilty of is thinking that accidents won’t happen to them.

“I think a lot of people think, ‘oh it won’t happen to me.’ Short trips in our car are good examples of that. That, ‘I’m just going to head to the grocery store.’ Or, ‘I’m just going to throw some burgers on the grill.’ Or, ‘I’m just going to go take a quick swim.’ But these things do happen to people just like you and me,” Speral said.

The American Red Cross also recommends you keep a disaster supplies kit in your car.