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tion of governmental power bodies of RF entities and local governments "to train and keep ready all the powers and means required to protect people and territories in case of emergency, teach people how to use means of protection and whet to do under such circumstances ". Article 19 of law determines obligations of RF citizens in the area of protection of population and territories from emergencies. Among other tasks there is this one: "to study basic ways of protection of people and territories from emergency, first aid methods, guidelines of use collective and individual means of protection, always update knowledge and practical skills in the area". Article 20 determines that "training of population to act right in case of emergency is effected by organizations including educational institutions and at the place of residence".

One of basic trends of RF Government activity in the area of emergency situations prevention and ensuring security of people and territories is forming of mass "safety culture" through mass media and system of education and professional training.

People training is based upon the order approved by resolution of RF Government of 24.07.95 No 738 "About the order of people training in the area of emergency prevention". The standard act establishes that RF people training in the area of emergency prevention is held in accordance with age and social groups and implemented at enterprises, institutions and organizations (including those of general education) regardless their organizational and legal form as well as at the place of residence. Training supervision, coordination and control is entrusted with Ministry of Emergency of Russia.

The resolution of RF Government makes specific the provisions of RF Law "About protection of people and territories from natural and man-caused emergencies" with regard to the issue of youth training in the area of emergency protection.

So Article 2 determines that "... students of institutions and organizations of elementary, secondary and higher professional general education are subject to emergency prevention training " and Article 4 determines that "Training of students of general education institutions and establishments of elementary, secondary and higher professional education is effected during study hours in accordance with educational emergency prevention programs. The programs are approved by Ministry of Education of Russia after agreement with Ministry of Emergency of Russia ".

Certain knowledge, abilities and skills united into a common system may formulate a new competency of students which is the most important for life preserving in XXI century. This competence will allow graduates of schools of general education maintain health and safety, estimate and build their activity in accordance with the idea of own and public safety.

Competence of people in the area of life safety is important for successful Russia development under conditions of transition of world community from industrial development to post-industrial one. It will serve as a basis for further

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training of specialists in professional educational institutions of all levels and descriptions and especially of occupations directly connected with protection.

Ministry of Emergency of Russia feels in charge of the problems of life safety issues introduction into educational institutions and actively participates in the process. The ministry officers were involved into development of programs, manuals and teaching aids; creation of teaching and material basis as well as financing of the works was implemented. They also considered the matters of preschool age children and youth teaching up to the level of higher professional education.

The first steps in teaching children the issued of safety are taken at preschool educational institutions. In 1995 program "Basis of preschool age children safety" was developed. In conformity with it children of older groups are in game taught rules of the road, safe behavior in everyday life and other basic concepts of life safety.

The best results in problems solution in the area of life safety are reached through general education: children and teenagers easier adopt the motives encouraging observation of norms and rules of safe conduct at home, outdoors, at school, in the country and then in society and at works. Many programs of general education of the world contain sections devoted to health and safety. They are intender for youth preparation for life under conditions of recently increased number of various dangers. In Russia from 1991 this role is taken by the course of "Basis of life safety" (BLS course) which later included some issues of basis of military service.

Fragmentary including of safety issues into available school subjects would not be systematic and would not allow to use the potential of educational process in full measure. BLS course is intended for training "a safe type" of person who is well-acquainted with contemporary problems of life safety and vital functions of humans. The type of person would understand who extremely important the issues are and who would try to solve the problems and along with it to reasonably blend together personal and public interests.

BLS course is being approved by general education institution for ten years. Of course it is not a great period of time, so called period of growth and coming- to-be. BLS course is introduced into educational process with great difficulties.

The problems are familiar: lack of clear normative documents by Ministry of Education of Russia as well as well-trained teachers in this area; poor educational and material basis; need to develop manuals for regions and school supplies. New social and economic conditions of the state have also played a significant role. And nevertheless BLS course takes appropriate position in school curriculum.

In elementary school the issues of safety are reflected in differentiated course "Human being and the environment" introduced in almost every school.

Most of the problems go to secondary school. For 5-9th years BLS course is made an option from Basic curriculum by resolution of Ministry of Education and in many schools it is only present if there is free room for it. Such condition is intolerable as it infringes pedagogical principle of educational continuity of BLS

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course in system of school of general education. In spite of this Ministry of Emergency of Russia and local education control bodies BLS course is introduced into regional and school components of Basic curriculum in 76 entities of RF. However situation with life safety education improves not as fast as we would like it to. The above reasons constitute the constraint.

Currently Ministry of Education of Russia considers the matter of status "subject" attachment to BLS course under 11 years education. Regardless urgency, lasting normative legal basis and teachers' interest to the subject, students and public subject "Basis of life safety" is not included into compulsory minimum of basic educational programs in the project of state educational standard of general education for elementary and secondary school. This impairs integrity of knowledge receipt and that is why it is inadmissible.

Activities (competition) in program "Safety school" is an essential link of system of mass activities. For the purpose of organization of students' life safety training after school All-Russia Children and Youth Public Movement "Safety school". Movement "Safety school" allows to faster in studying youth along with other moral and will qualities such important personal features as collectivism and cooperation. In 2001 All-Russia Children and Youth Public Movement "Safety school" was included in Federal Register of Youth and Children Association of Russia supported by the state. Today movement "Safety school" joins more than 200 thousand students in 72 regions of the Russian Federation. Under direct support of Ministry of Emergency of Russia during the period starting in 1995 6 AllRussia competitions of "Safety school" students were held. In 2002 on the level "city-district-region-territory" more than 21 thousand competitions were held in which about 1.7. million of people took part. Now regional competitions of the 7th All-Russia competitions of "Safety school" students are on, later territorial competitions will be held. Final of the 7th All-Russia competitions of "Safety school" students will take place in August, 2003 in Vologda region.

Principal concern of Ministry of Emergency of Russia is given to development of elementary professional orientation of students in the field "Junior rescuer". Under immediate participation of officers of Civil Defense and Emergency Department in RF entities 7 military schools, 15 schools, 285 classes and 1553 study groups (units) "Junior rescuer" were established. And even if finally a child, a future young man, will not knit up his life with the uneasy job of rescuer the skills obtained after in-depth study of the specific issues will help him protect himself and his neighbors in case of emergency.

Competence of school graduates in the area of life safety will serve as a basis of further preparation of specialists in professional educational institutions of all descriptions connected with safety of life, society and state.

In educational institutional of basic professional education preparing specialists on the grounds of basic general (9-years) education the BLS course is a continuation of the same course of general school and corresponds to the course for 10-11 forms but due to specific character of professional education it has its

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own peculiar features. Approximate program of BLS course envisages formation of knowledge, skills and certain experience in the area of protection of human health under extreme conditions.

In educational institutional of secondary professional education BLS issues are studied by students within subject "Basis of life safety" on the grounds of basic general education and within subject "Life safety" on the grounds of secondary (full) general education. Programs of these subjects envisage preparation of students to act right in case of emergency.

Let us note a positive fact: the subject "Life safety" is included in state educational standards of all specialties of secondary professional education in the volume of 60-90 hours according to field of study. The program of subject for institutions of secondary professional education was developed on the grounds of program of higher educational institution with simplification of some issues study in conformity with the level of base knowledge. But in spite of the fact that the subjects are secured by normative and legal aspects there is still a number of questions and problems to solve. So BLS educational hardware leaves much to be desired and it does not differ from one in institutions of general education. Situation with teachers' staff is in a sorry plight too. At best the teaching process is managed by teachers of other fields who underwent advanced training in scientific and methodical center of secondary professional education.

Additional reading

I. Earthquakes

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. The moment magnitude of an earthquake is conventionally reported, or the related and mostly obsolete Richter magnitude, with magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by a shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event—whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans— that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, huge amounts of gas migration, mainly methane deep within the

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earth, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments.

Naturally occurring earthquakes

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km are classified as 'shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those with a focal-depth between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed 'mid-focus' or 'intermediate-depth' earthquakes. In subduction zones, where older and colder oceanic crust descends beneath another tectonic plate, deep-focus earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to 700 kilometers). These seismically active areas of subduction are known as Wadati-Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a depth at which the subducted lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high temperature and pressure.

Earthquakes and volcanic activity

Earthquakes also often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both by tectonic faults and by the movement of magma in volcanoes. Such earthquakes can serve as an early warning of volcanic eruptions.

Earthquake clusters

Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of locaton and time.

Aftershocks

An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of asmaller magnitude. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock.

Earthquake swarms

Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a short period of time. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series of aftershocks by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is obviously the main shock, therefore none have notable higher magnitudes than the other.

Earthquake storms

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in a sort of earthquake storm, where the earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, and with some of the later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones.

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Size and frequency of occurrence

Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as in Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, but earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, including New York City, London, and Australia. Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5.

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past, but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an increase in the number of earthquakes. The USGS estimates that, since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0-7.9) and one great earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been relatively stable. In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has decreased, although this is thought likely to be a statistical fluctuation rather than a systematic trend.

Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains. Humans can cause earthquakes for example by constructing large dams and buildings, drilling and injecting liquid into wells, and by coal mining and oil drilling.

With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo or Tehran, in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may claim the lives of up to 3 million people.

Effects/impacts of earthquakes

There are many effects of earthquakes including, but not limited to the following:

Shaking and ground rupture

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings or other rigid structures. The severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the earthquake magnitude, the distance from epicenter, and the local geological and geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation. The ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration. Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the earth's surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of few metres in the case of major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures such as dams,

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bridges and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of existing faults to identify any likely to break the ground surface within the life of the structure.

Landslides and avalanches

Landslides are a major geologic hazard because they can happen at any place in the world, much like earthquakes. Severe storms, earthquakes, volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, and wildfires can all produce slope instability. Landslide danger may be possible even though emergency personnel are attempting rescue.

Fires

Following an earthquake, fires can be generated by break of the electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, the deaths in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake were caused more by the fires than by the earthquake itself.

Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, as buildings or bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. This can be a devastating effect of earthquakes.

Tsunami

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by a sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. In the open ocean, the distance between wave crests can surpass 100 kilometers, and the wave periods can vary from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600-800 kilometers per hour, depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them.

Floods

A flood is an overflow of any amount of water that reaches land. Floods usually occur because of the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, exceeds the total capacity of the formation, and as a result some of the water flows or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. However, floods may be secondary effects of earthquakes, if dams are damaged.

Human impacts

Earthquakes may result in disease, lack of basic necessities, loss of life, higher insurance premiums, general property damage, road and bridge damage, and collapse of buildings or destabilization of the base of buildings which may lead to collapse in future earthquakes. Earthquakes can also lead to volcanic eruptions, which cause further damages such as substantial crop damage. Most of civilization agrees that human death is the most significant human impact of earthquakes.

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II. Car crashes. Insurance

Beware

Despite car insurance being a legal requirement in order to drive on UK roads, you will still find a surprising number of uninsured drivers behind the wheel. Unfortunately, given the number of drivers without insurance and the sheer volume of traffic on UK roads, instances of uninsured drivers colliding with other road-users are bound to occur from time-to-time. Some estimates say that as many as one in twenty motorists have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, and that this will add between £15 and £30* to the average premium paid by conscientious motorists.

What do I do at the time of the accident?

Any motorist that collides with you is unlikely to admit that they have no insurance. To that end, you should endeavour to collect as much information as possible, including the following:

1. The other driver's vehicle make and model, and registration number. This is really the most important piece of information to collect, as if the driver is uninsured, then any name or address that they give you could be false. 2. The driver's name and address. Your insurance company will require this for all accidents. 3. Take notes regarding the damage to the other vehicle involved. 4. Take note of as much detail about the accident scene itself as you can - including road markings, weather and light conditions, whether the cars had their lights on, signals being made by cars at the time etc. 5. If there are any independent witnesses, be sure to get their contact details in order to collect statements. 6. If you have a camera, take lots of shots of the scene - and try to get the other driver in there. Remember, your mobile phone can be handy for this too.

Should I call the police?

You should call the police as a matter of course if any of the vehicles are causing an obstruction, there is bodily injury, or you have hit third party property such as a wall. They will file an accident report, and a copy of this will prove handy when dealing with any other parties later involved with the incident - such as your insurance company.

If you do call the police, then they will request that the drivers involved produces their license, certificate of insurance and MoT certificate, in order to ensure that they are legally permitted to be on the road.

However, if the incident does not warrant a call to the police and you suspect

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the other driver in uninsured, inform your insurer and do not take matters into your own hands. Insurance companies have tools to see if an insurance policy on a particular car has been taken out, or can otherwise make inquiries based on the registered keeper of the vehicle.

How will my level of cover affect my claim?

In the event that you are hit by an uninsured driver, you will be in a far better position if you have comprehensive car insurance. You may lose your no claims bonus, but at least your insurance company will pay for the repair of your car. You will probably have to pay the excess too, unless you have a policy which waives the excess payment if you're hit by an uninsured motorist.

Things get a lot trickier if you only have third party cover. Your repairs will not be covered by your car insurance company, and any offers of informal compensation from the other driver may well not be honoured - especially if the damage to your vehicle is likely to be expensive to repair. You may not even be able to trace the driver. If you do, there is no guarantee that they will cover your costs - even if taken to court. The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) will be your only recourse in this instance and your insurer can give you advice on the best way to proceed.

The MIB is a company which enters into agreements with the government to compensate the victims of negligent uninsured and untraced motorists. If you choose to seek compensation via the MIB, then you will have to have an accident report. You can find out more information regarding making a claim on their website (http://www.mib.org.uk/). The MIB seek to compensate victims fairly and promptly. However, bear in mind that any claim made will be reduced by £300 - a bit like an excess payment. So if one claims for damage to the value of £500, then they will receive £200 in compensation payment.

Road Rage Scale

This test describes common, potentially anger provoking situations that occur while you are driving. Imagine that each of the situations described is actually happening to you as you are driving. Rate the amount of anger that would be provoked in each situation using the following scale.

1 Not at all 2 A little 3 Some 4 Much 5 Very Much

Use the numbers above to determine your score. For example, if question number 1 below makes you very angry, then you would put down a five next to question number 1 for your degree of anger towards the situation.

1.Someone makes an obscene gesture toward you about your driving.

2.Your mileage is above the radar speed limit as you pass the radar trap.

3.Someone runs a red light or a stop sign.

4.Someone honks at you about your driving.

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5.Someone is weaving in and out of traffic.

6.A police officer pulls you over.

7.You are driving behind a large truck and cannot see around it.

8.A bicyclist is riding in the middle of the lane and slowing traffic.

9.Someone is slow at parking their car and they are slowing traffic.

10.A truck kicks up sand and gravel on the car that you are riding in.

11.Someone speeds up when you try to pass them.

12.A slow vehicle on a mountain road will not pull over and let people by.

13.Someone backs right out in front of you without looking.

14.You are stuck in a traffic jam.

Total Score= _________

Why is it getting harder and harder to pass your test, also with the cost of driving also escalating out of control? I have recently passed my third test over the course of two years.

When I took it the 1st time it cost only £46 plus the hour before hand. Now, just over two years it costs £56.50. Not only has the price of the practical exam increased, but so too has the price of the theory exam and the cost of driving lessons themselves. The theory exam now costs £30, as opposed to the £25 I paid at the beginning of this long journey. I just don't know how they can justify increasing the price?! The exams are now even harder, meaning you are more likely to spend more money due to the fact that you're more likely to fail. Surely if the exam is to get harder, the price should stay the same.

The price of a driving lesson now is averaging £25 for an hour, the price started off just under £18 when I first started taking lessons. This is due to the rise of fuel costs which will obviously affect every driving instructor. This makes learning to drive is really expensive now and the tests are getting harder with the examiners becoming pickier by the hour.

The average person needs around 17 hours to learn to drive, this means you're looking at forking out around £550 to pass your exam including your exams and lessons. With the majority of learners starting at the age of 17 or 18, it's a wonder how many can afford to learn how to drive.

If a student has an unlucky day where they make a fault on their test which they do not normally do whilst learning, they can fail the test and have to book another after waiting 10 days, this to me is unfair and the system needs to be reviewed. The majority of failures are down to nerves, instructors all over will tell you that they have students who are flawless on their lessons, but you sit an examiner next to them and they fall apart.

Auto Insurance Basics

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