Always Expect a Cow

Avoiding Surprises Behind the Wheel

I spend a lot of time these days talking about speed and inattention. Last year the United States led the world in distracted driving accidents. 1.6 million were due to use of  mobile devices. With so many other dangers on the rode, taking your eyes off the road for three seconds is foolishness.

When I was a reporter in Wisconsin, I used to travel to all the small towns around WNRR. Working there was my first experience as a journalist. I would gather police reports and write stories for the morning drive program. One story really stood out.

A driver in Little Chute was traveling at a high rate of speed up and over a hill at night. Just the other side of the hill were four cows. There was no way the driver was going to be able to stop in time. The police estimated he was traveling at over 70 miles and hour. The report focused on the death of the four cows. I had to ask about the driver. "Oh yeah, he died too."

In a way, it's like taking your eyes off the road. The driver that hit the cows couldn't possibly see what was on the other side. If he were driving slower (the speed limit was 50) he might have been able to avoid the cows. It might have been a near miss.

The video below demonstrates what happens when there's a combination of inattention and speed.




Slowing down five or ten miles an hour as you approach an intersection or come over the crest of a hill can make all the difference, that is, if you are paying attention.