S13Ep9: Story Series: Confronting Complacency Behind the Wheel

Have you ever found yourself on autopilot during your daily routine? Accept our invitation to recognize and combat complacency, which could have far-reaching consequences in our lives.

Host: Tim Page-Botorff
Guest: Yvonne Wallace

Transcript

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Tim Page-Bottorff 0:07

Hey welcome to SafeTalk with Safe Start . I'm Tim Page-B ottorff and joining me today is one of my favorite Client Managers , Yvonne Wallace . Yvonne welcome back to the podcast .

Yvonne Wallace 0:17

Thanks between us , you're one of my favorites as well .

Tim Page-Bottorff 0:21

Hashtag awesome I appreciate it . Thank you so much , and I've asked Yvonne to be here today to continue our Story S eries . And just a quick reminder of how this series works . She's going to share her story . I'll instruct you when to hit pause for a group discussion and when you're done , Yvonne and I will be back to share our two cents . Yvonne , you want to get us started with your story .

Yvonne Wallace 0:46

Absolutely, so rise and shine on a Monday morning , I was getting myself ready to head to work . I also happen to have contractors back now that winter had left and I had some work that I wanted them to finish off and that was beginning on the front porch of my duplex back in the fall . So before I got my car , I had a quick chat with them , showing them the lights I wanted up and the mailbox positioning and where I wanted the numbers placed on the new beams , and then said you know , have a great day . And headed to my car .

Yvonne Wallace 1:19

As I was reversing out of the parking lot , there was a big bang and my car abruptly stopped because I had backed into the contractor's trailer which contained all the tools and materials to continue finishing my front porch . So not only did I know they were there , I had just talked to them 30 seconds before I got in my car to leave , and they have massive trucks and trailers and I should have been able to see that it was there or know that it was there Then f or the third issue was that I have a backup camera in my car , so I would have been able to see it through the backup camera . But anyway , I called the two guys over and told them what I had done and there was not even a scratch on their trailer , thank goodness , and there was just a really thin line on the bumper of my car , so really lucky .

Tim Page-Bottorff 2:13

My goodness , this is kind of a great place for me to step in here . In a moment I'll ask you to pause the episode and when you do that , discuss those states and those errors and those CERTs that you think Yvonne could have used going forward to avoid this in the future . And , of course , don't forget to answer the question of how much worse this could have been . Yvonne and I will be back here when you get done . We'll see you in just a few minutes .

Tim Page-Bottorff 2:38

All right , so we're back . Yvonne , what did you come up for ? The states in your for yourself ?

Yvonne Wallace 2:46

I really don't feel I was rushing , frustrated or tired , but that sneaky b***** complacency really crept in and I failed to realize that my surroundings or environment had changed . So , as we know , when we aren't able to sell , we can't sell trigger on complacency because we're in that kind of flow state or dreamlike state .

Tim Page-Bottorff 3:09

So you think you kind of were an autopilot . I kind of get complacency which led to basically some errors . Was complacency it ?

Yvonne Wallace 3:19

I really think it was complacency .

Yvonne Wallace 3:21

I'm just doing the same thing each day , reversing to get myself on to work , but eyes and mind not on task would have been another issue , and that led eventually to line of fire .

Yvonne Wallace 3:34

So what I've done now is created a new habit , which is very much in infant stages and far from being to have a strength yet , so I practice this every day . And far from being to have a strength yet , so I practice this every day . And what I do now is I walk around my car each morning and , instead of getting in the driver's side and then setting down , you know , my purse , or reaching across and putting my purse and lunch bag in the passenger seat , I walk around my car , open the passenger door and set my purse and lunch on the passenger seat , which forces me to look for anything that could happen to be on the ground nails , kids or whatever , what have you and then I look at the pathway , out the driveway and ensure that it's clear . I am also considering reversing into this back parking lot , which is a little more tricky because all the parking is on an angle , but it also , again , if I'm looking at that front windshield , that might be something else that will help me not recreate the same situation again .

Tim Page-Bottorff 4:34

Thank you for painting that step , the state to error pattern . And so you literally just said complacency led to eyes and mind not on task and a potential line of fire or actually was line of fire , sorry and that you created a new habit . I will say many of our customers , clients they've adopted the strategies that you just mentioned the walk around and the pull through or backing in , specifically when they're parking . It just kind of gives you a clearer view when you're actually coming out into traffic or going straight out . So thank you for that . So let's go ahead and talk about how it could have been worse .

Yvonne Wallace 5:09

So many ways I could have been reversing even faster than I was and more damage could have been done , which is costing me money , not only on my own personal vehicle but on the contractor's trailer . I could have hit a person which would have haunted me the rest of my life , not to mention if they sued , I could be financially ruined as well . So , and I also have a lot several little kids down both sides of the street , kind of under five , who run all around the streets , happen to be in their diapers and may have , you know , wandered into my path . So I'm thinking this new habit hopefully will allow me to visually see what is blocking my path and shake me out of that complacency in the future .

Tim Page-Bottorff 5:53

Well , those are great , great answers or conversations that you've given us , and I appreciate that Now all of you out there listening and doing the pausing and stopping and reflecting , you might have come up with some different answers than Yvonne did , and that's okay . Remember , there's no absolutes in this . It's much more about the process as opposed to getting the right answers , and so that was an incredible story . Thank you very much for that , Yvonne , and I will say that you got me kind of chuckling there when you said when you look for things on the ground , you're looking for nails and kids . So then , now that you've got some kids that are in your neighborhood under five , it's probably a good thing to look for them . Whether they're on the ground or not , I suspect that you probably hire them to investigate or inspect your car underneath . That's a joke , anyways , I got to tell you , Yvonne . thank you so much for spending some time and telling your story today . I really do appreciate it .

Yvonne Wallace 6:50

Oh , it's been a pleasure . Thank you for having me .

Tim Page-Bottorff 6:56

It's been my pleasure , and so that's it for today . Remember , I want you to share this episode , and you may want to share this with maybe one of your drivers in a family or a family member that might be beginning to drive , and so , for Yvonne and the rest of the Safe Talk team , thank you so much for sharing part of your day with us , for Safe Talk with a Safe Start . I'm Tim Page-Bottorff and we'll see you down the road .