Dusty Roach
Here lately, I have been reminiscing about my own trials and tribulations throughout my career regarding safety and the oil and gas industry. One of the key reasons I went into safety was the constant loss of life and limb. To this day, the highways are still the most dangerous thing we do as an industry. It does reveal that we are all human, and we do occasionally err in judgement. As a Goldstar family member, the most horrifying experience I have ever encountered was receiving a message from a casualty affairs officer and a military chaplain regarding the death of my son in law in Iraq from an IED, while I watched my daughter, 8 months pregnant with twins, crumple to the ground. My point is very simple. Regardless of the circumstances, it is horrible for any family to go through. Every year, there are numerous messages delivered similar to this when a loved one is killed in a vehicle crash and learns they were not wearing their seatbelt.
The late Governor Mark White, 43rd Governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987, signed into law a bill that required Texans to wear seatbelts in vehicles. I was not a fan of his. In fact, I was reluctant and resistant to comply. I am just being honest.
In fact, one day in 1993, I was driving back home in my older CJ Jeep ((Renegade) that had OEM lap seat belts. I had my music cranked up to the max, with AC/DC (Thunderstruck). A policeman got behind me and I remember thinking to myself, “I remember the days when I was young and the police would pull up behind me and light me up! I’m glad that I’m a responsible adult and don’t speed.” About that time, the cop lit me up! I pulled over. He came up to the window and said, “Sir, are you aware that we have a seat belt law and it is illegal to drive without a seatbelt on?” “Yes sir, officer, but I’m in an older vehicle that is exempt from shoulder seat belts.” To which he retorted, “Well, what is that flapping in the wind, hanging out your door?” I hung my head and said, “My lap belt, sir.” We both laughed, heartily. It’s no wonder I didn’t hear it banging. My jeep was loud and rattled, plus there was the music, which I’m sure was over 85 decibels. He said to me that if I put the belt on, he would let me go, and then he said, “Nice music” as he laughed and walked off.
With that being said, I have always faithfully worn my seat belt ever since. Governor White took a beating for enacting the seatbelt law—so much so that he was not re-elected. However, the law has saved innumerable lives.
In today’s world we still hear each year of people being killed or seriously injured when ejected in rollovers or when involved in head-on collisions—most of these casualties happening because vehicle occupants were not wearing their seat belts because they are forgetful, stubborn, or tired of the way the belt fits. Manufacturers even offer a way to disable the seatbelt reminder, in the owner’s manual. In addition to the risks of choosing not to wear a seatbelt, the dangers of fatalities are compounded with phones and distracted driving. It is a hard pill to swallow when sharp-minded people choose not to wear seat belts. I feel strongly that if people were required to work crash scenes with the DPS or EMT’s, people would be more motivated to wear the seatbelts. Having worked with numerous retired LEO’s, I know they will gladly corroborate the importance.
When I stop a crew from leaving the yard or location, I check the back seat occupants in a crew cab, and it’s been my experience that—close to 90% of the time—they are not wearing their seatbelts. So if they have a head-on crash, they become projectiles to the people in the front seat. That is a rough way to die. It is no consolation that, when I correct them, by the time they are halfway to the blacktop, they have already unbuckled their seatbelts.
Wear your seatbelt before starting any motion. It is difficult to prove how many lives have been saved by simply wearing seatbelts. That’s really a number that is difficult to quantify and qualify. However, it is very easy to quantify how many lives have been lost due to no seat belts being worn. I would like to reiterate that American highways are still the number one cause of fatalities in our industry.
As always, it’s not how many hits you have in baseball. What counts is how many times you reach home safely. Be safe! Dust