Why People with Sloppy Characters are a Safety Risk

You see a lot in car parks. The way cars are parked and the interaction of the people who park them. Looking down from my fourth floor window I’ve often noted the strangest things at times; things that I’m sure people don’t often or readily perceive as being observable. They seem oblivious to the fact that someone might be watching.

Equally, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they drive and interact with other road users; beyond the car park. In fact, I proffer this: it is one of the best gauges of the inner character of the person, how they interact with road users or behave when driving a motor vehicle or motorcycle; it’s ‘who you are when [seemingly] no one is looking.’ I mean, isn’t it strange how we think. All of sudden we’re invisible when we’re in the car. Not so much!

One time recently, I saw a person cut an intersection leaving no room for another motorist to come through the other way. I thought, ‘This person is obviously in a hurry.’ Some people are always in a hurry. (I know I have to actively resist hurrying.) I also thought that this person would probably not purposely cut someone off in the hallway of the office--when all we do is able to be witnessed.

People who behave differently when they’re under observation compared with when they’re ‘all alone’ have sloppy character. If a person can’t react and behave consistently they’re a safety risk because they simply compromise too easily. People who are friendly when under scrutiny but then turn into aggro-crazed-maniacs on the roads, when no one they know is looking, can’t be trusted to work safely when left alone. This is a character issue. Their lack of character will create in them safety risks for sure and certain.

When we consider someone for a position where safety is essential, trust is vital. We need to be assured that the person has irrevocable levels of character; this is where compromises are not made when no one’s looking.

Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.