Lifestyles

Footwear Can Increase Safety

Posted: 1/7/2011

Don’t become an accident statistic. Add getting the right footwear to your safety checklist.

(NAPSI) - While home improvement projects can fix what ails your home, doing these jobs without the right footwear can result in personal injuries.

More than 160,000 people land in the emergency room after falling off ladders annually, some with fatal or debilitating injuries. And more than 70 percent of slip-and-fall accidents happen while on level ground. Being properly outfitted for the job can help you avoid being a statistic.

While people frequently take precautions such as wearing goggles, buying protective gloves, checking power cords and testing ladders, they often overlook footwear. Home-improvement projects mean slippery or uneven floors, potential electrical dangers, and heavy items that can break a toe or ankle. Old gym shoes or boots might be good for getting dirty, but not for avoiding injury.

Protective and supportive footwear that provides maximum traction can reduce accident risk. In fact, expertise from the company that maximizes road traction has been used to develop comfortable, durable and slip-resistant footwear.

Michelin Footwear CEO Thomas Costin explains why their developers look to Michelin tire experts for design and development help. “Grip on the ground is a key performance for tires. It was logical to transfer Michelin’s grip know-how to footwear, applying leading technology to footwear tread and outsole design to improve traction.”

For more information, see www.michelinfootwear.com.