The balance of benefit versus harm of an activity, device, technology or substance.
Questions tagged [safety]
158 questions
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Are expired car seats no longer safe to use?
Many websites will claim a variant of the following claim:
Do not buy a used car seat unless you can verify the age of the seat. There should be a manufacturer's label on the back or bottom of the seat that gives the manufacture date and/or…
JonathanReez
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Is yellow the most conspicuous color?
It is often claimed that yellow (or a particular hue of yellow or yellow-green) is the most conspicuous color. This supposed fact is used in many industries from safety to advertising. This reasoning is used as justification for the yellow…
called2voyage
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Is driving stoned safer than driving drunk?
Some support that driving while under the influence of marijuana is safer than driving when drunk, saying that people who drive high always drive at slower speeds so even if they cause an accident, it's a much safer one.
Has any research been done…
John Demetriou
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Is it more dangerous to ride a motorcycle [with a helmet] than to drive a car?
Tell people you want to purchase a motorcycle and the usual response is "I hope you have your will made out" or "I don't want you to die" or similar. The implication is that motorcycle riding is more risky than car driving.
Per mile driven, are…
Kevin Burke
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Is sleeping in a car with the windows rolled up dangerous?
I keep seeing this conspiracy get repeated. The conspiracy goes like this: car manufacturers don't want homeless people sleeping in cars, so when a car is off, the air vents automatically close. They say you must crack open a window, but this…
Willy150
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Does the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission require weatherized pipelines and equipment (but Texas's doesn't)?
The Houston Chornicle writes:
Texas has the only American electricity grid with no rules for resiliency. Instead, the GOP majority argued that a system that pays higher prices when demand goes up would incentivize generators to make sure their…
Fizz
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Is "Islamic fasting" healthy?
I live in a mostly Muslim country (Morocco). Now we are in the month of Ramadan.
First, I had to define Ramadan:
Is 30 days (or 29) where practicing Muslims can neither eat or drink or having sex, all the day, for example here it starts from 04.00…
Motaka
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Do childrens' playgrounds designed to be safe reduce injuries to children?
In Tim Harford's book-length argument that some degree of messiness is, contrary to much modern opinion, a good thing, he makes an argument late in the book that applies to the spaces where children play.
Modern playgrounds have become dominated by…
matt_black
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Is inhaling helium dangerous?
Inhaling helium and talking with a funny voice used to be a great party trick for chemists with access to it and has now become more popular as helium supplies have become accessible for filling balloons.
But claims are being brought forth that…
matt_black
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Is it safer for bicyclists to be allowed to roll through stop signs?
The Idaho Stop rule for bicycles (Idaho Code 49-720) allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs. Its practical application is described in this video.
A study by Jason Meggs if often cited (1, 2, 3, 4) as establishing that allowing rolling…
user5582
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Will using auto-darkening welding helmets damage your vision?
I've been told in person, and seen repeated on many a forum, that auto-darkening welding helmets are dangerous and that anyone who uses one eventually needs glasses.
However, I have been unable to find any studies that conclude for or against…
Wayne Werner
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Does "dirty electricity" cause cancer?
Research by Magda Havas, Ph.D., of Trent University in Canada, and U.S. epidemiologist Samuel Milham, M.D., links something called “dirty electricity” with diabetes, malignant melanoma, and cancers of the breast, thyroid, uterus and lung. Dirty…
Sklivvz
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Does having your bedroom door closed while sleeping improve fire safety?
The UL (formerly Underwriter Laboratories) has a Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) that claims that sleeping with the bedroom door closed reduces the risk of being killed in a fire:
UL FSRI research on fire service horizontal ventilation, begun…
John Doe
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Has president Trump been "very strict on Commercial Aviation"?
President Trump seems to be implying that him being strict on commercial aviation led to 2017 having been "the best and safest year on record". When reading carefully, he does not claim that outright; it's merely a juxtaposition of two…
SQB
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Ammonia content of beef in USA
Is it true that 70% of ground beef found in the United States when sold is 30% by-weight ammonia (which is not on the label), and that the beef used is essentially only usable for pet food except for the sterilization by ammonia? If this is not…
Brian M. Hunt
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