Work Smart. Work Safe.
Keep your "Heads Up" and work safe!

By Matt King

Photo: Summit Entertainment

Since it is February, the month of Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d focus this latest edition of Safety and the movies on a romantic movie. And what better romance movie is there than the second Twilight movie, New Moon (we admit, there are tons of romantic movies that are better and frankly, more romantic, but come on… it’s Twilight.)

New Moon follows the continuing romantic adventures of Bella and Edward, a human and a vampire who fell in love in the series first movie. But let’s stop wasting time. What sort of safety notes can be found in The Twilight Saga: New Moon?

1. Do NOT ride a motorcycle without a helmet.

Photo: Summit Entertainment

Spoiler alert: at the beginning of the movie, Edward leaves Bella heartbroken, moving to some unknown destination (later, he shows up in Italy).

Photo: Summit Entertainment

Anyways, after being sullen in her bedroom for months, Bella decides to hang out with Jacob, hoping that he can fix a motorbike for her. You see, Bella has started seeing ghostly versions of Edward whenever she is in danger and hopes that riding a motorcycle will make it so she can see him again, ghostly or not. Well, you’ve got it Bella, because riding a motorcycle without a helmet is enormously dangerous, as we soon see. Soon after, Bella falls off the bike, landing smack dab into a rock. Next time Bella, wear a helmet.

2. Keep your hair back when doing mechanical work.

Photo: Summit Entertainment

If you’re like Jacob and you have a long mane of hair, then you should act accordingly when working on a motorcycle, or other mechanical things. Jacob, who demonstrates poor safety skills at times, is correct here in putting his hair up. With long hair mixing with mechanical work, there’s a chance of getting it caught in between things and that can cause serious safety problems. Well done Jacob!

3. When working, or even just standing, in the cold rain, wear appropriate clothing. Do NOT be half-naked.

Photo: Summit Entertainment

For much of New Moon’s runtime, Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner, is shirtless. Normally, this would be fine, granted the gloomy, but surprisingly okay weather of Forks, Washington, where the movies and books are set.

Photo: Summit Entertainment

However, it does get cold at times. At one point, when Bella and Jacob are arguing outside, it is raining and evidently cold. You can see Jacob’s breath even at times. Yet, for some reason, Jacob refuses to wear a shirt and is even wearing shorts. I know, he is naturally warmer because of the werewolf thing, but seriously, he could catch a cold, or worse, pneumonia. Since you reading this are not, I assume, a werewolf, you should not do as Jacob does. Wear warm clothing when outside.

4. When outside in the hot sun, make sure to wear sunscreen.

Photo: Summit Entertainment

Near the end of the movie, Edward is hanging out in Italy (naturally) and decides to go outside so that he can be seen by the humans. You see, in the Twilight universe, vampires don’t get burned by the sun, but rather, their skin becomes weirdly shiny, like they have diamond cream all over them. However, obviously, this is probably just a bad reaction to the sun. What he should do is wear sunscreen. If you work outside in the summer, you should not follow Edward’s example. Wear sunscreen, otherwise you could be at risk of all sorts of different skin problems associated with UV exposure.

And those are your four safety tips. Can you think of any other ones in New Moon? What about the rest of the Twilight Saga? Are you on Team Jacob or Team Edward? Feel free to leave your answers in the comments.