0:03
active police officer I've been one for
0:05
almost 18 years and I currently serve as
0:06
a patrol Commander for my department
0:09
safety is something that we could all be
0:11
more mindful about we all get stressed
0:13
we all get busy and we get into our
0:15
routines but those of us Professionals
0:17
in the public safety industry recognize
0:20
that a little can go a long way with
0:22
just some awareness some curiosity and
0:24
some intention about planning so let's
0:27
start by just being aware and curious
0:29
right so be aware of your surroundings
0:31
when it comes to just general
0:33
interaction in public are we actually
0:36
looking around are we aware of what's
0:38
around us what's more than three feet in
0:41
front of us right so so many of us are
0:43
glued to our phones I see it all the
0:45
time with people just on their devices
0:47
they're looking down they have
0:49
headphones or uh the over the ear in the
0:52
ear whatever on and who knows how loud
0:54
they're listening to it maybe their
0:56
Hood's on maybe they have a hat that's
0:58
down and then what do they actually
1:00
seeing when their posture is down and
1:01
their heads down so are we aware and
1:04
that could be everything from someone
1:05
that would be a wbe Mugger or literally
1:09
a curbing that you're going to trip on
1:10
so comes to safety awareness is key so
1:14
nighttime considerations it is that much
1:17
more dramatic because your visibility is
1:20
drastically hindered Beyond just normal
1:23
day-to-day functions right you literally
1:25
have less light to operate in um your
1:28
visibility will get better as your eyes
1:30
adjust but if you're going in from light
1:33
to dark to light to dark in and out of
1:35
buildings especially with bright
1:36
fluorescence recognize that your eyes
1:39
will take a beat to adjust so in the
1:41
effort of safety if it's appropriate to
1:44
do so maybe after you leave the
1:46
convenience store or maybe you after you
1:47
leave your office you hover there for a
1:49
moment so your eyes can start adjusting
1:51
to lower light so we talked about
1:54
personal visibility what you can
1:56
actually see and perceive but what about
1:57
how you're being perceived right so
1:59
there's a lot of awareness around people
2:03
often times going after potential
2:05
victims because of anonymity right so in
2:08
hours of Darkness people can hide more
2:11
uh they can Target specific people and
2:14
they can actually see when that person
2:16
is alone when they're not going to be
2:18
perceived by a the victim or B other
2:21
Witnesses or bystanders right so be
2:23
aware try to move towards areas that are
2:26
well lit so whether you are on foot on a
2:29
b bicycle ebike scooter whatever car
2:33
recognize that there are decisions that
2:35
you can make that may affect your safety
2:37
in positive and negative ways so if I'm
2:39
on foot and I'm on a major highway that
2:42
might not be that safe because
2:44
regardless of alcohol impairment some
2:46
people get tired they have drowsy
2:48
driving right they start veering to the
2:49
right however if I'm off the roadway
2:52
maybe there's a wellit path a foot path
2:54
that I can take of course there is going
2:56
to be the Dilemma whether other people
2:57
are using that path right so we talked
2:59
about the potential victimization there
3:01
so just be informed right you might
3:03
share your route with people that you
3:05
know so they can actually track you if
3:06
you feel a little bit uncomfortable all
3:09
right so there are different
3:10
opportunities there there's also ride
3:12
share that may be worth spending some
3:14
extra bucks just to get home
3:16
quicker so as far as commuting traveling
3:19
around whether you are on foot whether
3:21
you're on a bike or in a vehicle there
3:23
are a lot of things you can think about
3:25
so first off how traveled is this
3:27
thoroughfare right whether it's a foot
3:29
path or whether it's a roadway how many
3:31
people are coming and going from this
3:32
that may be able to see me if
3:34
something's going wrong or if I need
3:36
help right if I get a flat tire is this
3:38
well lit so I can actually change it or
3:40
I can flag someone down that might help
3:42
me or that triaa is going to find me
3:44
whatever the thing is if you are the
3:46
motorist I want to talk about some
3:48
things so one are you actually being
3:50
aware you might be on cruise control in
3:53
a literal or figurative sense when
3:55
you're driving and commuting however you
3:57
have to realize that you can't account
4:00
for everything right too many drivers as
4:02
we say in Police Academy look just
4:05
beyond their bumper when they're driving
4:07
they don't look farther out right so
4:08
when appropriate if there's no other
4:10
motorist use those high beams they're
4:12
there for a reason for visibility
4:13
especially if it's not well lit if it's
4:15
some country road and it's super dark
4:17
the last thing you want to do is see
4:19
something way too late right even if
4:22
you're trying to be a responsible driver
4:24
and you're not distracted the other
4:26
thing is at night you may have you may
4:29
have a bicycle you may have a motorist
4:31
with no headlights on you may have
4:33
somebody walking or riding a bike Etc
4:36
that is under the influence themselves
4:38
and they are in the middle of the road
4:40
or they're off to the side of the road
4:41
where they should not be if you are
4:43
alert if you're driving mindfully if
4:45
you're actually trying to perceive
4:47
farther out as you're driving you're
4:49
going to be more likely to avoid that
4:52
situation what about yourself being the
4:54
nighttime driver whether you're driving
4:56
for your work for your shift or whether
4:59
you are driving home after a long one I
5:02
want to encourage you to take a beat
5:04
right there are little strategies that a
5:05
lot of nighttime shift workers may use
5:08
that may include blaring the music that
5:10
may include rolling the windows down uh
5:13
these things may work if you're a little
5:15
fatigued personally I've experienced
5:17
both and still gotten extremely tired
5:19
and continue to be drowsy right so if
5:22
you have somebody I would call a buddy
5:25
when you have to talk to somebody and
5:27
actually engage and listen it can wake
5:29
your brain up a little bit more so
5:30
that's a little trick if you have a
5:32
fellow night shifter someone else that
5:34
got off work you're commuting back at
5:35
the same time why not call your buddy
5:37
say hey I'm tired just talk to me we're
5:40
going to get through this the other
5:42
thing I would recommend is actually
5:44
pulling over there's a couple things you
5:46
can do there right if you pull over in a
5:48
well lit safe area right maybe a maybe a
5:51
gas station that's populated by the
5:52
clerk and everybody else consider just
5:55
getting out of your car right getting
5:57
some water walking around can just move
6:00
your body it moves your blood around
6:02
you're you're breathing more you're
6:04
getting that fresh air that nighttime
6:05
air and that might be what you need to
6:07
just kind of shake that out and get back
6:10
on your road home uh if not if you're
6:13
super
6:14
fatigued just find a place to take a nap
6:17
and that I know that that can be
6:19
precarious when I'm talking about where
6:21
to stop and all this other stuff but if
6:23
you can just pull over again somewhere
6:25
that's safe and populated lock the doors
6:29
and get some shy a quick power knap can
6:31
go a long way we know there's data that
6:35
a sleepy driver can be worse than a
6:38
legally intoxicated driver right so be
6:41
aware for your own personal safety and
6:43
everyone else on the road I'm going to
6:44
hit on public transit real quick often
6:46
times we can find ourselves in really
6:48
uncomfortable situations on public
6:50
transit do what you can to be close to
6:52
the employee whether that's the
6:54
conductor or the driver those are folks
6:57
that have been through a lot they see
6:58
this kind of thing often times relaying
7:01
something that you don't feel
7:01
comfortable about or something that
7:03
you've seen cannot hurt right try to be
7:06
amongst the other General commuters if
7:08
you see somebody in crisis or somebody's
7:11
acting strange or targeting you picking
7:14
on you making comments or remarks to you
7:16
right try to get around the other people
7:18
so you have witnesses and also you
7:21
remove that anonymity right now the
7:22
strength and numbers you can also
7:24
consider calling the authority saying
7:26
hey there's a guy he's making threats to
7:28
me and somebody else we're still on this
7:29
bus we're still moving let the driver
7:31
know at the same time as somebody is on
7:33
the line with 911 right Safety First
7:36
something doesn't have to happen for you
7:38
to call 911 if you are seeing signs if
7:41
you're feeling these things that are
7:43
making you extremely uncomfortable
7:45
there's generally a reason for that
7:46
right you can articulate that you can
7:48
think through it and you can also do a
7:50
lot of work thinking through it before
7:51
the thing happens and how you would
7:53
perceive these things and how you would
7:55
describe them if you had to call and
7:57
report it to
7:58
somebody all right I'm going to talk
8:00
about preparedness so like actual items
8:02
actual things that you can have with you
8:03
that are going to be helpful so whether
8:05
we are on foot or whether we're in a
8:07
vehicle of some sort do we have what we
8:10
need in case things are going not so
8:12
great and what do I mean by that so
8:14
let's start with onf foot okay so
8:16
visible uh reflective clothing also you
8:20
have your phone your phone's kind of
8:21
your Lifeline now our phone is not just
8:23
a phone it's the Internet it's GPS it's
8:26
a flashlight what if your phone like so
8:28
many of us after a long day that battery
8:31
is super low consider keeping a battery
8:33
pack right that can be something that
8:35
goes a long way a lot of people used to
8:38
have a flashlight on their keychain
8:40
right the little LED light and I feel
8:42
like those have all disappeared but it
8:43
would not be a bad idea to have some
8:45
sorts of light especially in hours of
8:48
Darkness if that's part of your normal
8:49
routine right you don't want to be
8:51
burning out all your phone battery just
8:53
to use the light on that thing if you
8:55
have another light source flashlight
8:58
absolutely translates to Vehicles
9:00
whether it's a bicycle a headlamp or
9:04
electronic battery operated reflectors
9:07
and red white blinking lights for
9:09
bicyclists as well also you're going to
9:13
want the same opportunities in your car
9:15
most people are going to keep a charger
9:16
in their car but it's just something
9:18
that we can remind ourselves hey if we
9:20
don't have one Now's the Time to get one
9:23
all right what else do we need to get on
9:25
the road if we are stalled from being on
9:28
the road so as far as a bicycle do you
9:31
have basic equipment like really small
9:33
minimal things to change a tire do you
9:35
have an extra tube or Tire to get you
9:38
back on the road to limp your bicycle
9:39
home so you can get home and then fix it
9:42
up later for a vehicle can you change
9:44
your tire maybe maybe not but you have
9:47
the opportunity before it's stressful
9:49
before it's freezing out do you have the
9:51
mechanisms do you have the right tools
9:53
do you have the right lighting okay have
9:54
you done it a dry run as it were in your
9:57
driveway at home where it's flat and
10:00
warm and well lit that's the time to
10:02
practice and then when you have to do it
10:04
when it's more stressful and raining you
10:06
can do it do you have gloves do you have
10:08
all these other things that are just
10:09
going to make that kind of thing easier
10:10
right so an extra light source the
10:12
proper tools some people might opt for
10:15
slightly better tools than what your car
10:16
comes with and a lot of cars might not
10:18
come with that thing so make sure you
10:20
know what you have and get what you need
10:23
also are we dressed for the office and
10:25
then back at home assuming that we
10:27
weren't going to have any hiccups are we
10:28
actually dressed dressed and prepared
10:30
for the weather so if I do have a car
10:32
breakdown if I'm whether or not I'm able
10:34
to change the tire or not do I have the
10:36
adequate clothing to keep myself safe uh
10:39
warm comfortable from the elements right
10:42
the last thing I want to do is have to
10:43
hike a couple miles as it's pouring down
10:46
or it's starting to snow and all I have
10:48
is a non-water resistant non-waterproof
10:51
light jacket or sweater or something
10:53
like that no gloves my hands are
10:55
freezing I can barely feel them from
10:57
trying to change my tire and failing
10:59
all these things right so a lot of us
11:02
get rid of clothes all the time
11:04
seasonally great to donate stuff but why
11:06
not hold on to like one thing you don't
11:08
really care about but could be very
11:09
effective as just that like backup that
11:12
hopefully you never need and you
11:13
probably will never need in the trunk of
11:15
your car as far as a super old jacket
11:17
and some warm clothing lastly I do want
11:20
to talk about personal safety
11:23
selfdefense and weapons of opportunity
11:25
or weapons so if you are in a precarious
11:28
situation if someone is presenting as a
11:30
threat to yourself what are you going to
11:32
do do you have the training do you have
11:35
the mindset do you have the fitness do
11:37
you have any of the tools do you have
11:38
anything that is a weapon or could be
11:40
used as a weapon these are the things I
11:43
would hope everyone can think a little
11:44
bit about not to be paranoid but just to
11:47
be aware and so that you have a plan
11:50
you're not trying to figure it out in
11:51
the moment right we commonly know that
11:54
when we are extremely stressed we're GNA
11:56
we're going to do a couple things we're
11:58
going to fight flight or freeze and I
12:01
would prefer everyone has thought about
12:03
how they want to fight if they have to
12:06
or flee if they have to but not freeze
12:09
Right freeze generally doesn't lead to
12:11
good things for someone is who is trying
12:13
to do harm to you or somebody with you
12:16
so again thinking about these things
12:18
being mindful to the approach can
12:20
absolutely help you be prepared
12:23
awareness is key be patient give
12:26
yourself Grace with the process you can
12:28
even make it fun with a buddy my goal is
12:30
not to make you afraid my goal is to
12:32
make you prepared