Levelland Police Chief Albert Garcia is encouraging the Hockley County community to practice safety methods during the holiday season.
“One of the biggest things people can do is be drive safely as the holiday season means traveling on roads,” said Garcia. Garcia suggests abiding by the rules of the road and following all instructions for the safety of all drivers.
“We want them to make sure that they’re abiding by the rules and they’re seeing vehicle warnings or warning lights on the side of the vehicle on the side of the road,” said Chief Garcia. “Make sure you move over and slow down. That’s what the state law stipulates with those kinds of things and always take heed to what other drivers are doing.”
Paying attention and being a good defensive driver in any traffic is important. Especially for motorcycle riders.
“It’s getting to the point now where drivers of any vehicle need to be a defensive driver and make sure that they are paying attention to what other people are doing,”explained Garcia. “We want to make sure that when they’re out there on the roads they are making sure that are paying attention to all the road conditions, the traffic signals and any emergency lights that they may see on the on the side of the road.”
Additional safety measures for travelers is when traveling a long distance make sure that they let other people know where they’re going and what route they may be going on.
In the event that something catastrophic may happen such as a broken-down vehicle or something to that effect, friends or family members should have a general direction of which way someone is traveling.
“If you let people know where you are going, we can get out there and look for you,” said Garcia. “If you’re traveling outside of the general area and going to be gone for several days, think about calling the Levelland Police Department and putting your house on the house watch so that we can make sure that we’re driving by and checking your property.”
Chief Garcia says that type of thing can be done very easily by just calling the LPD at 806-8946164 and letting communicators or telecommunicators know that citizens want to put their house on a house watch.
“We will ask you a few general questions and it doesn’t take long to get that done,” explained Garcia. “We’ll make sure that we’re ensuring the safety of our residents and one of the questions on there is going to be is basic contact information if something happens.”
This step is something most citizens do not take advantage during holiday travels, but the option can provide peace of mind for its citizens.
Additionally, with Black Friday and gift shopping ramping up for most, Garcia cautions residents to be wary of thieves who will be looking for easy and accessible belongings left out in the open.
“You have to do your due diligence to make sure that you’re keeping yourself and your property safe if you are out shopping,” said Garcia. “Make sure that you have your keys in your hands, but as you start to walk to towards your vehicle especially ladies, when getting to your vehicle you can quickly unlock it get in your vehicle and get in it safely before somebody can approach you.”
Before walking to a vehicle, using one of the buttons that will make the vehicles lights come on is something Garcia suggested to have programmed in their car remote as they have become common in vehicles.
For Thanksgiving, safety on the roads is not the only top priority. Keeping fire safety top of mind in the kitchen during this joyous but hectic time is important, especially when there’s a lot of activity and people at home. As someone starts preparing their holiday schedule and organizing that large family feast, remember, by following a few simple safety tips anyone can enjoy their time with their loved ones and keep a family safer from fire.
The National Fire Protection Association offers tips for individuals cooking or hosting family gatherings for Thanksgiving.
Stay in the kitchen when cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food. Stay in the home when cooking a turkey and check on it frequently.
Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay three feet away. Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns. Keep knives out of the reach of children.
Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children, up high in a locked cabinet.
Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
Keep the floor clear so no one can trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
Make sure smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average.
Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
Cooking causes half or 53% of all reported home fires and nearly two of every five or 38% home fire injuries, and it is a leading cause of home fire deaths by 18%.
On Thanksgiving day alone, an estimated 1,160 home cooking fires were reported to U.S fire departments in 2021, reflecting a 297 percent increase over the daily average.
According to the NFPA, frying turkey is one of the more dangerous forms of cooking turkey due to the high temperature oil.
Families are encouraged to use alternative methods to cooking turkey such as the oven in order to minimize the risk of fire that could potentially happen.