THE FINAL FACTOR

[Music] every time we drive there are factors that work that could contribute to an accident the minor driving errors that we all commit are factors they can build gradually or suddenly pop up anywhere anytime in any type vehicle most drivers can handle at least one such factor many can cope with two even three successfully and some even more [Music] but these drivers all experienced and cautious are about to face emergencies not necessarily caused by violations of the traffic laws but by the addition of that one factor that they cannot handle safely this is the final factor we can get an idea about how factors add up and combine by looking at this familiar situation two drivers at the scene of a minor collision many of the factors that led to this accident will never even be known by the drivers involved let's see what those factors really were factor one was contributed by jane hoffman jane is always nervous driving her expensive car especially when getting on an expressway and is often just a little too careful the driver of this car already on the expressway is not honoring the merging traffic sign and allowing jane to enter the flow of traffic he is creating factor two jane edging up decides at the last minute that she can't make it and stops meanwhile behind her bob kaplan assuming that jane did enter the expressway turns to check traffic for his own entry and that's factor three following closely behind bob kathy brewer now adds the final factor she chooses this moment to change cassettes in her tape deck at the exact moment bob hits his brakes finally seeing her opportunity jane entered the expressway unaware that she had anything at all to do with bob and kathy's collision if any of the four drivers had eliminated the factors they created the accident might have been avoided factors do have a way of building up watch as they build for benjamin walker returning with his wife from a weekend in the country factor one ben walker is tired it's been a long day he's been on the road since late morning he knows he should stop but he has to get home it's also dark and that's factor two factor three ben's wife who's also tired is resting on his shoulder this limits ben's control of the steering wheel factor four ben's wagon is overloaded ben doesn't know it but that extra weight is causing his low beam headlights to shoot high blinding the oncoming drivers they respond by flicking their bright lights trying to signal ben to dim his ben doesn't understand his brights aren't on and then the final factor one driver retaliates by blasting his brights at ben momentarily blinding him [Applause] fortunately it isn't serious but if any or all of the factors that caused this had been eliminated ben and his wife would have gotten home a lot sooner often an emergency situation develops and there's no one but yourself to blame for contributing all the factors take neil berman for instance neil is a pretty good driver but he occasionally takes risks up to now he's been lucky in dealing with these factors safely this time however it will be different factor one the weather has made the road slippery and treacherous factor two neil anxious to reach his destination sees no need to slow down factor three he's also unfamiliar with these roads and that map he's clutching is a distraction from his full attention to the road factor four neil is driving on almost bare tires and on a road like this if the brakes are applied suddenly he'll skid neil's dirty windshield is making visibility difficult factor five the worn out wiper blades are making it even worse still neil feels confident that he can handle these factors safely and he probably can but when we add the final factor an unexpected construction barricade which perhaps should have been more clearly marked but if neil hadn't taken so many risks he would have been better prepared to safely handle this emergency most accidents do occur when we're close to home and always when we least expect them case in point betty corwin on her way home from the shopping center with her three children betty knows that it could be dangerous not having little jennifer safely harnessed in the front seat betty isn't even wearing her own safety belt she says it limits her movements especially with two active kids in the back seat these will be factors one and two betty's not really driving fast although maybe a few miles above the posted speed limit but with these road conditions it's too fast factor three betty knows that she should keep her eyes on the road at all times but she has to keep an eye on her kids too and that's factor four betty's inattention to the road now let's escalate that rough housing in the back seat factor five [Music] and to this we add the final factor [Music] [Applause] who would have expected a bicycle out in weather like this and true the child should have been more careful before riding so quickly into the street luckily there were no injuries but it could have been much much worse how could this have been avoided now betty is safely belted in and jennifer is secured in an approved automobile safety seat even the two kids in the back are wearing safety belts and betty has provided a quiet activity to occupy them to eliminate other factors betty notes the road conditions and drives a little slower by so doing betty can now handle the only factor left to cope with she can stop in time without fear of endangering anyone in this emergency situation many times it is other drivers who contribute the factors factors that you are unable to control of course you too can be the other driver the car on your left is driven by phil cates phil always uneasy on a thruway is unsure of where his exit is and drives in the center lane that's factor one next to phil in the truck is ken gordon ken is not used to driving a truck and his heavy load is slowing him down a good deal more than he expected and a slow driver especially in a truck should never be traveling in the left lane forcing other drivers to pass on the right ken will contribute the second factor the car directly behind ken trying to pass is driven by beth wayson beth is rushing to a job interview and has waited too long before deciding to change lanes and pass ken on his right beth will contribute factor three pulling alongside beth is john kimball john is following behind phil's car much too closely and this is no time to be distracted either john adds factors four and five all these factors are building up but let's see what happens when the final factor is introduced phil has found his exit too late phil cates concerned only with getting off the thruway is not even aware that he contributed the final factor this emergency might have been avoided if just one of these drivers had eliminated the factors they created for example if ken gordon had been in the right hand lane where he belonged beth would not have had to try and pass him on the right or if beth had changed lanes earlier instead of at the very last minute she could have avoided the emergency john might have noticed the distance between his car and bills if he had been watching the road instead of beth if he allowed more space he wouldn't have had to swerve into beth's lane when phil slammed on his brakes and phil besides being in the wrong lane he should have gone on to the next exit once he missed his which would have prevented a potentially fatal emergency all these drivers have taken risks risks that they have taken before and yet have managed to drive safely these risks become factors which when combined with other factors could create emergencies remember this next time you drive you may be able to cope with one factor probably more but the more factors you consciously eliminate for yourself the better prepared you'll be to cope with that one factor that's beyond your control the final factor so you