Coming home from work today, I was behind this car in Atlanta traffic, and it struck me that there would be a number of challenges facing even the most experienced driver if they were to find themselves behind the wheel. Turning would be different. You could easily underestimate the position of the car now that…
Tag Archive: auto
Signage – Do We Care About the Font?
You may have heard the story at the end of September that a Federal mandate is requiring that all street signs be changed to a font called “Clearview” and that signs are not ALL CAPS. The reason is simple enough – the easier a sign is to read, the less a driver’s attention is taken…
Safety in Numbers
I was always good in math, but I was never fond of statistics. Studying engineering in college, I had to take a class called Statistics For Engineers, which was really just like any other stats class, except the questions pertained to engineering problems. My friends assumed that meant the questions were along the lines of:…
2 Situations, an Either-Or Choice in Each
Do you know much about your own decision processes? Are you risk-averse? We think differently depending on how the choices are stated. Consider this situation: You have to choose between either – an 80% chance of winning $4,000 with a 20% chance of winning nothing or – a 100% chance of receiving $3,000 Then look…
2 Physics Lessons That Could Save Your Life
It’s been cold in Atlanta this week. Thursday evening we had a rain and snow event which left our roads icy and dangerous. I’ve lived in places that routinely get weather like this, but Atlanta gets it so infrequently that people don’t get a chance to develop the skills to drive when conditions are icy….
An Obligation to Be Safe
Years ago (I seem to use that phrase more and more often) I worked for a manager who talked about safety as an obligation. But his unique spin was that the obligation was with each employee. Yes, we had to do all we could to provide a safe environment, good tools, the right personal protective…
6 Moments When I Wished For a Do-Over
Safety is one of those things that has a fair amount of chance involved. Once a chain of events begins, it can be a matter of several factors that determines the severity of the outcome. For example, I once helped a good friend build a greenhouse in his back yard. He was on a 6′…
Texting With Integrity
Driving is hazardous. It also can be time-consuming, particularly if you live far from work or take a crowded commute. And as I pointed out on my list last week, people sometimes compromise their safety in the name of expediency – they text while driving. In the world of industrial safety, companies who excel do…
8 Cool and Cold Weather Precautions
After 5 winters in Atlanta, I hesitate to complain about cold weather. I grew up in Cleveland and spent part of my career north of Albany, New York, so I’ve lived in much colder climates. Still, as the temperatures move lower it’s always good to reflect on a few steps we take specifically at this…
The Moment of Choice
In this blog I try and present ideas that would give people an opportunity to discuss options, to make choices. Everything we do is decisionable, and we are frequently on autopilot. But if we learn to make the best decisions with each action we take, when the moment of decision is quick we will have…
