Traffic accidents kill about 1.35 million people around the world each year. As the United Nations convenes a meeting on global road safety, new research suggests that if nations focused on key safety measures, about 540,000 lives a year could be saved. “The death toll from traffic injuries around the world is far too high,”…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay News) – Using ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft can reduce the number of impaired drivers on the roads, potentially leading to fewer alcohol-related crashes, a new research review confirms. Review author Christopher Morrison, who studies drinking and the problems it spawns, including assaults, drunken driving and crashes, said the evidence is clear.…  read on >  read on >

As a weekend heat wave that put more than 15 million Americans in the Northern and Central Plains on alert slowly moves east, the nation’s emergency doctors have advice to keep you safe. “Overexposure to the sun or heat can turn into an emergency faster than most people expect,” said Dr. Gillian Schmitz, president of…  read on >  read on >

If you battled a COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic, it probably won’t protect you much from reinfection with Omicron and its subvariants, a new study warns. Even a previous infection with the original Omicron variant provides little protection against reinfection, researchers report. They said the findings from their study of more than 730 triple-vaccinated…  read on >  read on >

Nearly 400 crashes have been tied to advanced driver-assistance technologies in the past year, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported Wednesday. Those accidents resulted in six deaths and five people being seriously injured, the agency said in the first large-scale safety report it has compiled on automated vehicles, the NHTSA said in…  read on >  read on >

Though it is a cannabis component, very high doses of CBD don’t appear to affect driving, a small Australian study reports. Researchers from the University of Sydney found that even 1,500 mg, the highest daily medicinal dose of cannabidiol (CBD) tested, did not seem to affect study participants’ thinking skills or driving when tested in…  read on >  read on >

If you have both asthma and seasonal allergies, there are ways to reduce the impacts of that double whammy, an expert says. People with asthma, a chronic lung condition, should try to control or prevent allergic outbreaks, said Dr. Miranda Curtiss, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. Nasal…  read on >  read on >

Anyone who’s tried to sleep on a hot summer night knows how hard it is to nod off when the mercury is rising. So it’s no surprise that global warming is likely to cost people more and more shut-eye as temperatures around the world rise. By the end of this century, individuals could be subjected…  read on >  read on >

U.S. pedestrian deaths in 2021 were the highest in four decades, with an average of 20 deaths every day, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. An estimated 7,485 pedestrians were killed in 2021, which was 12% more than in 2020, preliminary data show. The findings are “heartbreaking and unacceptable,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director…  read on >  read on >