PopularMechanics082017

AUGUST 2017 _ http://www.popularmechanics.co.za 45

THE RULES OF

LADDERS

Used right, a ladder is a marvellous tool.

Used wrong, a ladder is a marvellous

tool that can severely injure you.

1. Always face the ladder.


2. Scrape away slimy mud or slippery,
   wet grass clippings or leaves from
   your shoes before climbing.


3. Observe the three-point rule: either
   two hands and one foot or two feet
   and one hand should always be in
   contact with the ladder.


4. Don’t climb or descend the ladder
   while carrying tools. Secure tools in
   a tool belt or hoist them using a line
   and put them in a dangling bucket
   or other tool container.


5. Don’t lean way out to either side.
   The ladder needs to be positioned
   near where you’re working.


6. An extension ladder should stand at
   an approximately 75-degree angle to
   the ground. Too steep or too shallow
   an angle can cause it to slide out
   from underneath you or tip over.


7. When raising an extension ladder so
   that you will climb off it, on a roof,
   for example, the top of the ladder
   should extend a minimum of a metre
   above the top contact point to allow
   a secure handhold when climbing off
   or on the ladder.

drowning. Only a handful such

cases are reported each year.

SEND THE DOG IN FIRST.

GETTING PUNCHED IN THE NOSE

The right angle can send

bone fragments into your

brain.

Although the American Aca-

demy of Family Physicians

reports that approximately

40 per cent of facial trauma

injuries are broken noses, very

few, if any, of those result in

death. The nasal bone is short

and quite far from the brain.

Driving it into the brain would

essentially require caving in

the entire front of someone’s

skull, and most human fists

can’t do that. What can kill you

are complications from a bro-

ken nose, such as a septal

haematoma – a collection of

blood within the septum that

could become infected – or

damage to the cribriform plate

that separates the nasal cavity

from the skull and is very thin,

which can result in an infec-

tion in your brain.

VERY LOW. LOWER IF YOU BUY THE

GUY A BEER AND APOLOGISE.

GETTING HIT BY A CAR

When cars battle people, the

cars always win.

The pursuit of automotive

autonomy has been a boon for

safety, and has led to features

such as automatic braking and

lane-departure warnings be-

coming common, even in less

expensive cars. Along with