Transportation

• Check you automobiles condition frequently and before a trip. This is especially true if renting a car. Ensure that you check the tyres; condition & air pressure and also check the breaks, lights, horn etc. Always use a safety belt and check the condition of the belt prior to use.
• Always know the route you will be traveling. Have a copy of a good road map, and chart your course before beginning. Remember to take your valid drivers license, copy of your passport and valid insurance.
• Familiarize yourself with the driving laws and road signs. Which side of the road is the correct side to drive on? Your natural reactions could cause your accident!
• Avoid driving at night on unfamiliar and unlit roads. A majority of traffic accidents take place at night. Dusk and Dawn are also very prone to traffic accidents.
• Know the informal road rules , and be extra cautious while driving in countries with opposite driving lanes than your home country. Find out who has the right of way in a traffic circle. In some countries speeding, tailgating, ignoring traffic sighs and lights, and driving aggressively are all common. But that does not mean you should participate.
• Do not drive after drinking alcohol. Many countries have serious criminal penalties for driving after alcohol or drug consumption. (Prescription drugs are included)
• Drive within the speed limit at all times. Do not recklessly or aggressively. Maintain a safe distance between cars.
• Be very careful when passing a vehicle on unfamiliar roads. Foreigners are commonly involved in accidents in rural areas due to attempting to pass a car, bus or truck.
• Maintain a safe distance from following a truck / lorry. Debris falling from the truck or "kicked up" from the road causes a great deal of accidents.
• Driver distractions are one of the single largest causes of accidents. The use of mobile phones, drinking, eating, looking at a map or guidebook are all driver distractions.
• Be alert for wandering animals. In North America, White Tail Deer are a cause for thousands of car accidents and over 100 fatalities per year. In Australia, Kangaroos are a cause for hundreds of car accidents and is a major fatality category.
• The weather is a cause of accidents. Rain, Snow, and Wind are all factors that increase the probability of accidents. Weather conditions can also hide poor road maintained.
• Do not use of a moped, motorcycle or bicycle while on vacation will drastically increase your chance of an accident. Tourists have a very high rate of series injury or death due to unfamiliar roads conditions, unfamiliar traffic habits and careless behavior on their part. If you must, then where a helmet.
• Mini Buses, Cabs and Public Buses have a very high probability of being in an accident. These types of transportation have high risk due to several factors including; road conditions, traffic patterns and also the driver's capability and maintenance of the vehicle. Standardized drivers licenses and testing is not common in every county.
• Pedestrians should be careful when crossing the road, walking on the side with out a sidewalk. Traffic may be in directions that you are not familiar with. Drivers in some countries may not observe pedestrian crossing walks, traffic signals and may drive on the side of the road.
• Children should be place into an age appropriate Childs car seat.
• Depending on the country you might consider hiring a car service. This might help with personal security issues.
• Factors: Automobile Maintance, Road Conditions, Time of Day, Weather, Drivers condition including health, distractions, fatigue, alcohol, drugs, experience, knowledge of the local driving patterns and customs.

• The highest number of falls relating to travel occur at night either returning to accommodations (Stairs, Sidewalks) or "finding the bathroom".
• Ensure that the way to the bathroom is unobstructed and leave the bathroom light on if possible.
• Europe and the Western Pacific region combined account for over 60% of the total number of fall-related deaths worldwide. (WHO, 2004) Europe has a very high number of reported falls that lead to tempory or sustaining injury.
• High numbers of falls from balconies in tourist destinations are the result of alcohol.
• Factors : Pre-existing illness are a major factor for falls. The second largest factor is environment such as loose carpet, ill-fitting shoes, open lifts / elevators, unsafe stairs, bathtubs / shower stalls, poor lighting, loose footing (gravel). Use caution on public transportation.

• Familiarize your self with emergency exits. Possibly stay on lower floors. Generally it is recognized that the best choices are above the second floor but not above the seventh floor.
• Check for smoke detectors, fire alarms, fire extinguishers and water sprinkler systems.
• Fire response systems are inadequate in most developing or undeveloped country.
• Do not stay in a room over or next to the hotel kitchen.

Factors: enclosed cooking, candles & kerosene, unsafe stove, no sprinklers, no firm alarms, building materials are not fire retardant. Locked fire exists.

Poising

• A high number of deaths occur due to accidental poisonings. Accidental overdoes of prescription medicines is the highest poising rates for Adults over 40.
• Be extremely cautious when buying over the counter and prescription areas of high fraud and counterfeiting. In some countries (Mexico, India, Brazil, South Africa, Eastern Europe) it is not uncommon for the commercial drugs to be removed from the containers and fakes replaced.
• Check the box glue and safety lids on the box and container. In some cases the drugs have been removed and expired drugs replaced.
• Certain Animals and Animal by products contain poisons. Fish and Shellfish are the most widely spread. Travellers to the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions should be aware of the risks due to ciguatera poising and avoid consumption of larger carnivorous reef fish. (Grouper, Snapper, Amberjack, and Barracuda)
• Paralytic shellfish poising occurs after ingestion of contaminated bivalve mollusks such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops. The toxins survive normal cooking process.
• Factors : Self-medication, Drugs, Counterfeits or Out of Date Prescription Drugs, Certain Animals and Animal by products.

• Avoid consumption of alcohol before any activity in, on or near water.
• Adopt safe Behavior : Always where life jackets on watercraft, become informed of the local water patterns (tides, currents, rip tides), and natural (rocks, reefs, winds) and manmade hazards (pipes, pylons, sewage outtakes and water intakes).
• Adults should always supervise children. (Adults that have not been drinking alcohol) Infants and Toddlers have entirely high incidents of drowning and near drowning in very small volumes of water. Young children - non-toddler age - should always be supervised. (Head injuries are high in recreational areas.)\
• Wear good quality shoes when walking on the shores, riverbanks and muddy terrain.
• Avoid areas of running water after a storm such as stream banks and riverbanks. Swollen streams and rivers are extremely dangerous. It only takes several inches of running water to knock over an adult in good physical condition. Do not set up camp sits near streams or rivers during storm seasons. Do not set up a campsite on dry riverbeds during storm periods. Flash floods will quickly overwhelm even the most prepared campers.
• Ferry & Public Boat accidents have a very high rate of incident at night. Avoid nighttime journeys, if possible, especially unlit commercial & non-commercial routes. Always avoid transports that are overcrowded.
• Factors: Human factors such as fatigue, overconfidence in swimming ability, alcohol and a lack of knowledge of the local conditions. Environmental factors included current and tides, flash floods and mudslides.