Be a Lifesaver This Holiday Season: Gifts of Safety Can Fit Anyone on Your Shopping List.

LOS ANGELES -- Californians get frequent reminders of their need to prepare against fire, flood and earthquake, and the holiday season provides the opportunity to help them do something about it.

New technologies and products can help make giving the gift of safety fun, welcome and useful.

"Last year, a friend gave me a solar-charged flashlight-radio as a "joke" gift, but it's no joke. This year, that flashlight is a central part of my household emergency kit," said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. "People take delight in gifts they will need and use."

Gifts for the safety-conscious include:

* Digital cameras: Digital technology for your car doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. A simple, $40 digital camera is helpful for taking pictures at an accident scene or of damages to a home following a fire, flood or other disaster.

* Hands-free cell phone headsets: From a simple headset for $8 to the more elaborate Bluetooth systems for $50 to $75, headsets allow drivers to keep both hands on the wheel. Though legal, IINC recommends that drivers refrain from talking on the phone while driving.

* Emergency flashlight multi-taskers: Are the batteries in your emergency flashlight getting stale? New technologies not only do away with traditional batteries, but also include multiple uses. Solar and hand-crank flashlights may also include radios, cell phone chargers and alarm clocks. Prices range from $15 to $75.

* Auto escape hammers: In parts of California, driving along rivers or canals is common. An auto escape tool can provide a means to break out of a submerged car. These tools typically cost between $10 and $30.

* Earthquake safety fasteners: From museum wax to wall brackets, these devices can keep items from being damaged or falling over in an earthquake and typically cost from $5 to $20.

* Fire escape ladders: For about $100, a two-story ladder allows escape from a two story home fire if the normal route off the second floor becomes blocked.

IINC is a non-profit, non-lobbying insurance communications association. For more information on this and other issues, please visit the IINC Web site at www.iinc.org.