Ithaca College

Submitted on behalf of Tim Ryan, Assistant Director, Environmental Health & Safety

As we head into the winter months, it's important to take precautions against icy conditions. When temperatures drop below freezing, walking from parking lots and building to building can be a dangerous game.

Although Maintenance and Facilities do an excellent job salting and shoveling campus walkways, black ice and icy patches can strike before getting attended to.

Slips and falls are the number one cause of accidents at Ithaca College. Nationally, they cause more than 1,500 deaths and 300,000 injuries per year -- but there are many ways to prevent such accidents. Here is a list of ways to protect yourself:

 Outdoor Walking

• Wear the proper foot gear -- shoes or boots that are rubber or neoprene composite for traction
   
• Take small steps to keep your center of balance under you
   
• Walk slowly and never run on icy ground
   
• Keep both hands free for balance
   
• Use handrails all the way up and down stairs
   
• Avoid carrying anything on stairways
   
• Keep your eyes on where you are going
   
• Test potentially slick areas by tapping your foot on them
   
• Step -- don't jump -- from vehicles and equipment
   
• Keep walkways clear of debris, water, ice, and slippery materials

Indoor Walking

• Wipe your feet before entering buildings to avoid bringing water and slippery conditions onto the floor
   
• Don't pour rainwater from your umbrella onto the floor
   
• Use a handrail wherever available
   
• Report slip, trip, and fall hazards

If you know you are about to slip, here are some tips on how to fall:

• Roll with the fall and try to land thigh to hips to shoulder to avoid using your arms
   
• Relax as much as possible when you begin to fall
   
• Toss whatever you are carrying in order to protect yourself
   
• Bend your back and head forward so you don't strike your head on the pavement when your feet fly out from under you

If you are injured on campus, please contact Ithaca College Office of Public Safety at 607-274–3333 from a cell phone or 911 from a campus phone. Employees of Ithaca College are required to file an accident report soon after the event of any injury. 

Maintaining your household walkways and steps during the winter is also very important, so make sure to have a shovel and rock salt to treat these areas.