During the introduction to a 24-hour Lab Safety course, the issue of working alone was discussed. I presented the story of a woman who suffered a horrific injury as a result of an acid spill in the lab while working alone. She was out of work for over eighteen months with a serious, disfiguring, traumatic injury. Following the story, there was a lively discussion about working alone.

One of the course participants shared the next day, “You scared me so much yesterday that I took my cell phone with me last night when I went into the lab to get some work done.”

Now, some might say that he didn’t get it. I think he got it just fine. He took a simple, inexpensive step that significantly improved his chances of getting help in an emergency.

Can you do more? Sure. That’s not the point. The point is two-fold. First, he wasn’t “scared to death.” He didn’t quit science to become a librarian. Second, he did something to help improve the situation. He was “Scared Safer.”

Being “Scared Safer” is the positive effect of hearing an accident story. It’s the desired result.

From: Scared Safer by James A. Kaufman, Ph.D.