Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness

In the month of January 2019, I made a mistake that wouldn’t have happened if I was more aware of the environment around me, and less dependent on the GPS system. Situational awareness, something that I lacked during that moment in time, can be defined as “the ability to scan the environment and sense danger, challenges, and opportunities while maintaining the ability to conduct normal activities”¹. I was so confident in the reliability of GPS that I didn’t take the time to completely observe the surrounding area – including the posted traffic signs. In a less fortunate situation, not observing my surroundings while driving, I could have caused an accident. An accident that could have had the potential to cause injuries; not only to myself but someone else.

Knowing that my actions could have created a potentially fatal situation to happen was eye-opening to me, showing me how I need to be more cautious and more aware. In our society, it is very easy to place blame on someone else, especially amongst young drivers in Palo Alto. I knew there was no one to blame for this incident but myself. I made the mistake, admitted to it, and took responsibility for my actions. It may have been a small mistake to some, but to me, it felt like the end of the world because I know that small mistakes can lead to bigger things. I also felt really bad because my mother’s opinions are very important to me as she has raised me to be an honest and overall good person. Thinking that I had done something that would have her disappointed in me – something that she might take as a betrayal of her trust, made me feel really upset with myself. She allowed me to use her car to run personal errands and trust that I and the car would both return home safely. And we both did, but there was bad news to share and I was not happy to be the one sharing.

According to an article published by Harvard School of Public Health, not being situationally aware is a major factor in “90% of traffic crashes caused by human error”² which could have easily happened because of my own lack of awareness. Jared Olson, a NASA flight controller shares his three levels of situational awareness. The first level is, perceiving critical factors in the environment using available senses, something I failed to do by not checking for traffic signs and signals around me. The second is understanding what those factors mean, particularly when integrated together in relation to the operator’s goals. And lastly, anticipating what will happen with the system in the near future based on the first two levels. By taking and applying these three levels, I believe that one would be able to improve their situational awareness. To sum up these three levels to basics, pay attention, understand traffic signs/signals, and act accordingly – and usually, accidents will not occur. Maintaining situational awareness is a key factor in reducing accidents and mistakes, very much like the one I made.

Jeff Gonzales, a US Navy Seal, shared some tips on how to maintain situational awareness while driving. His first tip is to always pay attention to the cars around you, how fast they’re going, how far they are from you, etc. His second tip is to notice the drivers and their body language, lastly, drive mindfully and pay attention to the rules and how you are driving.³ Having done this research and experienced an incident of my own, I can see how easily traffic accidents happen. We are in a time where many drivers are constantly multi-tasking while driving, falling victim to numerous outside distractions, including cell phones, eating, applying makeup, etc. While driving either alone or as a passenger, I have noticed many drivers making these mistakes or having these distractions. However, part of me doesn’t believe that we will all get to a point of being accident-free on the road. One reason I believe this is that some people need to make mistakes to learn. But on the other hand, mistakes can be huge and often times fatal, so we have to be as careful and cautious as we can while still being able to operate our vehicles safely.

According to a personal injury law firm, Edgar Snyder and Associates, “10 percent of teenage driver deaths were the result of distracted driving.”⁴ I think statistics like these are what can make young drivers, like myself more aware. I have learned that not only do I not want to be a disappointment to myself nor my family, I also do not want to be the reason for any fatalities, personal or other. I am confident that this will be something that will follow me into the rest of my time driving on the roads of California and beyond. I have dreams and goals to accomplish, and I’m not going to get where I need to go by making easily avoidable mistakes and not taking my own and other lives seriously.