I was having such a good day...

I was having such a good day. What does a good day mean in my pathetic life? I woke up (I always count that as a good start to the day). Got the kids up and off to school and went to the office (the neighborhood coffee shop). Read and sent some e-mails, wrote a blog entry, and made a couple of phone calls. Yes, that’s as good as it gets on most days for me.

I left the coffee shop with a fresh cup of java around lunch time to check my post office box. I had a couple of checks in the mail! Booya! My good day got even better. As I was leaving the post office something happened that was going to change all that.

In front of me a blue-haired lady driving a early model sedan pulled right out in front of me. I remember thinking to myself… Hmmm… this is not good. She didn’t even see me, she’s going about 4 MPH and I am now sliding in the icy roadway approaching the rear end of her car at about 15 MPH. I did some quick calculations which resulted in the realization I was going to meet her in a very unpleasant way rather soon.

To avoid this, I had what appeared, at the time, to be a reasonable option. I would swerve to the right where snow was piled along the roadside. I would probably end up way up in the snow and have to be towed. But, I would not hit the elderly lady.

I put the plan into action and steered into the snow. It seemed like such a good plan until my car did not drive through the snow, but rather, drove UP the snow bank and before I knew it, my car was in its roof.

There I was, upside down, sliding on a icy roadway, metal screeching, and glass breaking all around me. I’m thinking “This isn’t good.” Up to that moment, I was having such a good day.

And there I was, suspended upside down, taking stock of my inventory. All my body parts are present and accounted for. But, like the song, there was something warm running in my eye. I must have hit my head. I released the seatbelt and it took a little ingenuity to figure out how to get the brake pedal depressed (which was now above me) and get the car into park and turned off. That alone was a comical feat.

I crawled out of the car, expecting the person who cut me off to be standing there, apologetic for her careless act of cutting me off. Nope, she was long gone. I don’t think she even know it happened. There were no witnesses. However, it’s amazing that once you put your car on its roof you start to attract gawkers as if you were giving away free $50 bills for everyone to stop by and ask what happened.

Thankfully, my injuries were very minor. The car, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well. It was considered a total loss by the insurance company. Now, I get to go shopping for a replacement car.

I am thankful the little old lady was not injured. I am thankful I was not injured. I am thankful there was not another car coming from the other direction. That would have been painful. I am thankful I was alone and none of my family had to endure that traumatic event. So, all in all, even with the accident, it was still a good day.

Oh, the something warm running in my eye… was my coffee!

Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
www.RichGasaway.com

Hang up the phone and drive!

Just hang up the phone and drive! Yes, you live a busy life in a very busy world. You're rushing here and rushing there... Jimmy to baseball practice... Susie to gymnastics... and Joey to the scout meeting. There's dinner to cook, laundry to be done, the house to be cleaned, the yard to be mowed, the garage to be cleaned out, the vacation to plan and those phone calls that need to be made to coordinate the hundred other things you have straining your time. So you learn to multitask. There's only one problem. Multitasking while you are driving a vehicle is very dangerous... even if you think you're good at it.

There aren't many aspects of my life where I could say, with confidence, that I possess expert knowledge. However, if there is one field I feel I have studied extensively it's situation awareness and making decisions under stressful conditions. I've spoken on the topic a few times (even won an international research award) and written about it a few times. I even have written a book and made a video on the topic. Ok... I hope you're convinced I know a little about it.

The human brain is a wonderful creation. It has been estimated that an average person's brain has more capacity than any computer yet invented. Your brain, much like a computer, has two types of memory, the memory that stores the things you are currently working on. In a computer that's called RAM. In your brain that's called short-term or working memory. There is also a second memory for things you don't need to use right away so they're stored away for safe keeping. In a computer that location is called the hard drive. In your brain it's called your long-term memory.

Your short term memory has a limited capacity while your long term memory is much more expansive. The challenge comes when you are doing multiple things that require the use of your short term memory... like driving a car and talking on your cell phone. Back to the computer example. If you try to run two programs at the same time and their collective needs exceed the capacity of your computer's short term memory, you're going to see some undesirable things happen, like stuttering visuals or audios or the computer freezing up completely. You don't see this so much these days with modern computers that have multiple processors (two brains). But in the days of old when software was being developed faster than people were buying new computers to keep up with it, freezing and stuttering were common.

As you drive a car, your brain receives messages that are processed using the short term memory. There are visual cues like stop lights and other calls. There are sounds like your motor, other cars, and sirens. You physically feel things happening, like when the car speeds up or slows down or makes a turn. There are smells, like burning oil or overheated breaks. There is the sixth sense, intuition, that gives you certain feelings about things that may happen, like your ability to predict when someone is going to cut in front of you before they even start to and you just know it's going to happen. All of these things consume working memory.

As you talk on your telephone, your brain receives messages that are also processed using your short term memory. Your brain processes the things that are talked about and forms mental images of your conversations. You think about what is being said to you and what you are going to say in return. Your emotions are stirred by what is said. All of these things also consumes your working memory.

It doesn't take long for you to be overloaded or for your brain to give priority to the telephone conversation and your driving goes on 'autopilot.' The good thing about your brain is it remembers its lessons well and can draw on information quickly from the long-term memory when needed. Red light... brain tells you to stop... even if you're not consciously thinking about it. That's a good thing.

The problem is when you're talking on your phone you may not be capturing the cues and clues necessary for your brain to know 'automatically' what to do. Your brain cannot know, for example, the light is red if you're not looking in that direction.

The problem gets even worse in newer drivers because they have not developed their expertise at driving to those automatic responses that adults can develop with experience are missing. Even when they are paying attention, novice drivers are not as perceptive at capturing the subtle cues and clues. The things they are supposed to be looking for are not obvious and they don't know how to look seek that information yet. Or they may find it, but not know what it means.

I like to play a game with my teenager where I predict what other drivers are going to do before they even do it... a lane change... turning without a signal... a nose pick. It can be a fun game. My kids think my clairvoyant. I'm not... I'm just perceptive. I see things they don't. My intuition is well-developed and I can sense things that are going to happen. In Star Wars terms... I use the force.

Talking on your cell phone as you drive can be as dangerous as drinking while you drive. Both dull your senses in their own unique way. You've seen people driving like they're drunk... all over the road. And then you see they're not drunk, they're just talking on their cell phones.

Fortunately, most people know it's dangerous to drink and drive. Unfortunately, there are an estimated 1oo million people to talk on their cell phones while they drive... and we have the accident statistics that demonstrates the consequences too. So... hang up the phone and drive.

What's the hurry?

As I have aged I now find myself driving more like an "old man" than a "young man." That is to say I drive the speed limit more often (and sometimes even under the speed limit). Maybe it's because I spent 30 years as an EMT and paramedic and I saw too much of the aftermath of careless, reckless, hurried driving. Or maybe as I've aged I have realized that there's no place I have to be in that much of a hurry. If you're late, just tell the person waiting for your arrival that traffic was brutal. Where can you drive today that you're not going to encounter some traffic? It's a plausible excuse that will earn you forgiveness so long as you don't abuse it.

It's not worth the risk of driving aggressive. Slow down... enjoy the scenery. Muse at the person who seems to be in a tremendous hurry to get somewhere... knowing that their high-stress (and potentially high-consequence) driving is going to result in them reaching their destination just a few minutes ahead of you.

Stay out of the fast lane... Life's too important to rush through it and it's too valuable to risk losing it in an accident.

You mean the world to someone. Don't let them down by risking your life with careless driving habits.