THE LEFT HAND OF SAFETY

According to expert Amar J.S. Klar, 18% of identical twins, who are considered to have the exact same genetic makeup, have different handedness. Many power tools, in their usual configurations, provide for free use of the right hand to manipulate materials, while restricting movements and utility of the left-hand, as can be seen in lathes, band saws and some milling machines. [...]to function in the right-handed world, the left-hander must either work with his nondominant and less proficient right hand, or must adopt body postures and manipulation patterns which are at variance with the design of the machines. According to Taras, Behrman and Degnanc (1995): The present data suggest that left-handed individuals have a relative risk of sustaining an amputating injury that is 4.9 times greater than the right-handed individuals, while minor hand trauma occurs at rates proportional to the distribution of left handedness within the population. [...]left-handed people can have several advantages and tend to be more ambidextrous than right-handed people because they have to in order to survive in a right-hand-dominant world.