Author: Monica Zech

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP Catherine Butler, Marriange & Family Therapist Community Resources (888) DVLINKS (385-4657) Family Justice Center (866) 933 – HOPE “Please don’t be afraid to call if you need help!” – Monica Zech

Is It Time to Give Up Your Driver’s License? *A question I’m often asked at my safety lectures is how can someone tactfully ask a parent or grandparent to give up the car keys. First, pick up a DMV California Driver Handbook. In the back of that book you’ll find the information on how to report someone to the DMV you feel should not be driving due to age or health reasons. Hopefully the following information will help as well.” – Monica Zech – Safety Educator “Giving up driving for a senior citizen is a major event, almost like when…

Help Stop “RED Light Running”! But be informed…click on the following web site: Stop Red Light Running FACT: In 2002, approximately 921 people were killed and 178,000 were injured in as many as 207,000 red light running crashes. Survivors of red light running crashes include people who are injured as well as the family and friends of people who are injured or killed in red light running crashes. Safety Tip: Who’s next? Careful at intersections – when you get a green light, don’t move – make sure those who got the RED light have stopped, then check again for those…

Motorcycle professionals use the phrase “dress for the crash”…yes, as a safety researcher, we’re seeing a darmatic increase in motorcycle crashes – injuries and fatalities! Sorry, but as a safety educator, especially in transportation…from my research and “on scene” observation, “motorcycles” are one of the most dangerous forms of transportation. In fact, they’re usually the messiest to clear and investigate. What doesn’t help, are the poor excuse for a helmet “skull caps-beannie cap” type helmets! Wear a full helmet! But then again, that only protects the head to a point – but not the torso of the body….especially when striking…

New Study – From CNN News Service – April 14, 2004 WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Heavy social drinkers show the same pattern of brain damage as hospitalized alcoholics — enough to impair day-to-day functioning, U.S. researchers said Wednesday. Brain scans show clear damage, and tests of reading, balance and other function show people who drink more than 100 drinks a month have some problems, the researchers said. “Socially functioning heavy drinkers often do not recognize that their level of drinking constitutes a problem that warrants treatment,” the researchers, at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and the University of California San Francisco, wrote…

Testimony of Sam Collins President, International Youth Council Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program U. S. Senate Subcommittee, Teen Suicide Senator Christopher Dodd Presiding 9/7/01 I used to think that suicide would never affect my life. I felt this way until my freshman year in high school. I remember a friend of mine, Jesse. My older brother and his older brother were best friends. We also had the same geometry class. Jesse was a year older than me and seeing as how I was a freshman in a sophomore class he looked out for me. I remember one time we all…

Woman saved by her seat belt Article in the Diane Bell Column of the Union Tribune: September 4, 2003 For years Monica Zech was the radio voice who alerted commuters to traffic tie-ups around the county. She nearly became a traffic statistic herself this Labor Day weekend. Zech’s Toyota collided with a vehicle that ran a stop sign in El Cajon early Friday evening. The impact demolished Zech’s 2003 SUV and sent her to the emergency room with a concussion and numerous cuts and bruises on her hands and legs. “I was saved by my seat belt,” reports a grateful…

Study: Alcohol Abuse Is a Deadly Problem For College Students 1,400 Deaths A Year Linked To Drinking POSTED: 11:09 a.m. PDT April 9, 2002 UPDATED: 6:18 a.m. PDT April 10, 2002 WASHINGTON — An estimated 1,400 college students are killed every year in alcohol-related accidents, according to a study released Tuesday that researchers call the most comprehensive look ever at the consequences of student drinking. “Half the World Trade Center casualties are happening every year in our colleges,” said one researcher, Mark Goldman, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida. The researchers say the figures show that college…

Seat belts aren’t optional if you really like living September 21, 1999 ‘Terrible accident.” My car radio spits out that phrase so often during the morning or evening commute, my attention passes over it like a speed bump. The term’s vague. Unless you’re Monica Zech. “Terrible accident,” a fireman told her after a recent smashup. “Pretty nasty. You don’t want to hear about it, do you?” “Sure. Tell me.” He did. Later, she told me. Now, I’ll tell you. First, though, a warning: Zech works for Metro Networks, one of the companies that provide traffic reports to radio and TV…