The Commute is Back

Contributed by Sandy Paquette, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

The Holidays are over and the I-5 commute is back to the anticipated high volume schedule.

Even while driving for the condition (road, volume, and speed) tends to aggravate people, the majority that becomes hostile are the ones in a hurry weaving in and out of the red taillights just to get one car further ahead.

I can’t figure out why one would want to speed up then stomp on the brake and then quickly change lanes to cause another to have to stomp on their brakes. Then after all of their extraordinary driving skills are accomplished, I end up passing them anyway, by maintaining my same speed and staying in the same lane.

I wonder if some of the companies that provide company vehicles for employee use are aware of their employees’ driving habits. Professional drivers are held to higher standard and expected to follow safe driving practices. All too frequently, it appears that company vehicles (cars, trucks, and buses) are not following their own safety standards.

One would think since their names are on the vehicles, they would have in place measures to enforce safe driving while in those vehicles. Negative driving could affect the company’s image and insurance rates.

For example: I was traveling on south I-5 when a well-known transit company’s bus was tailgating me. After a short way the bus started to flash the headlights (bright) into my vehicle. I checked my speed (it was 60 mph) what is the problem?

I could have moved one lane over, but the problem was that the bus’s headlights were blinding in my mirrors.

Admittedly everyone experiences some form of impatience while commuting. Is it worth the extra 2 minutes gained, the energy used to become angry, and a possibility of causing injury to another?

Evergreen Safety Council offers an EverSafe Driving course. It can be tailored to fit your company’s needs. Do you know how your drivers’ are performing while behind the wheel?