Preamble
All too often, people switch off the safety mindset when they leave their place of work .  Whether at work or not, there is a need to think and act safely, always.  Because of the high safety focus in most industrial work situations, there is a tendency for people to “switch off”, when not in the work environment.   It is very common for the mindset to be  “at work  = high danger, non work places = low to zero danger”.  Of course the reality is that danger is lurking everywhere and we need to think and act accordingly.

The Incident
It was a busy road which I new well.  I parked my car into a tight space on the side of the road in a  line of other vehicles and went into a store.  When I came out, I had a quick glance along the road and it was empty of traffic.  One of those rare moments when the planets aligned with the traffic light Gods and it all came together at the same time.
In one smooth, seamless motion I unlocked the car, slotted into the drivers seat, started the engine, a quick half glance over the shoulder and I was driving away as I used my knee under the steering wheel and was putting on my seat belt, all at the same time.  
As I started to pick up speed a little voice inside my head said “What an absolutely stupid thing you have just done”.  My eyes flashed to the rear vision mirror as I instinctively braced for the expected impact.  It didn't come.  I had been lucky. The road was still clear of traffic.  
However that incident highlighted to me just how easy it is to take unnecessary risks.
Whilst I “got away with it” this time.  It could just as easily have been an accident.  And for what reason ? To save a few minutes waiting for a break in the traffic.  Those few minutes would have made no difference to my life.  But an accident could have caused major issues.  Even if there was no injury to me or others,  the inconvenience of vehicle repairs and all of the ancillary paper work.
Why did I do it ?  A split second decision to save a few minutes. I don't know. It just happened

Summary
I believe that I am a cautious, safety focused person and yet I was guilty of a stupid action.  This reinforces to me that I need to apply a much higher focus and level of safety to my non work life.  
I thought about the incident in terms of a work related near miss and mentally ran through a near miss report with resulting actions.  
This may be non work activity but fundamentally, the same standards should be applied.  The bottom line is SAFETY.
As is often the case with OH&S incidents,  “familiarity breeds contempt”, a half thought, a snap decision, all in the interest of saving a few minutes.
Most companies would readily agree that their most important asset is their workers and staff.  Most companies have a high focus on safety at work.  Yet when the worker leaves the site, how many companies continue to actively promote the same safety initiatives to the non work environment.  A worker involved in an accident during non work activity is equally as disastrous as a worker being injured at work.  As well as all of the personal stress to the individual and their family.
At the end of the day, we all need to apply the same standards of safety to our non work environment.

Action This was a “wake up call” to me, but more importantly it reinforces to me that I need to actively drive a culture of safety in thought and action across all non work activities at the companies I work with. Specifically,  I believe that companies (large and small) need to adopt a “whole of lifestyle” approach to safety for their employees so that leaving the workplace does not mean leaving a culture of SAFETY.


John Chadwick is a Mechanical Contract Engineer who has a range of experience across diverse industries with a high focus on OH&S.