(NAPSA)—While home improve- ment 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 slipand-fall accidents happen while on level ground. Being properly outfitted for the job can help you avoid beinga statistic. Don’t become an accident statis- tic. Add getting the right footwear to your safety checklist. 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 accidentrisk. 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 performancefor tires. It was logical to transfer Michelin’s grip know-how to footwear, applying leading technology to footwear tread and outsole design to improvetraction.” For more information, see www.michelinfootwear.com.
