Tennessee motorists might wonder about what car makers are doing to continue to ensure driver and passenger safety. While many manufacturers are working towards self-driving cars, Volvo is developing vehicles that it is calling death-proof and which it hopes to introduce by 2020.
Overexertion is leading cause of disabling injuries
On Jan. 4, Liberty Mutual released the 2016 Workplace Safety Index, which is based on 2013 injury data from Liberty Mutual, the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers in Tennessee may not be surprised that overexertion involving external sources was the leading cause of disabling injuries in that year.
Mining deaths in 2015 the lowest on record
Miners in Tennessee have extremely dangerous jobs, and the perils of this kind of work prompted the federal government to establish the Mine Safety and Health Administration in 1978. More than 200 mineworkers lost their lives in job-related accidents during the federal safety agency's first year of operation, but fatality numbers have been gradually falling ever since. The number of mining deaths fell to 45 in 2014, and the agency reports that the 2015 death toll of 28 mineworkers is the lowest ever recorded.
FDA announces new regulations for pelvic mesh makers
On Jan. 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that manufacturers of pelvic mesh implants must reapply for the agency's approval of their products. The implants, which are used to treat pelvic collapse in women in Tennessee and elsewhere, have reportedly caused thousands of injuries to their users.
