Gordon Graham
Category: Law Enforcement

Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. And Today’s Tip once again deals with Law Officer Magazine’s Below 100 initiative and their warning: Watch your Speed. 

Speeding is a behavior that we can change. It’s simple: slow down.

Do you remember the old joke, “Why do cops speed? Because they can!” While that may be the truth, it’s not funny anymore. Year in and year out, automobile-related accidents are the top killers of cops nationwide and speed is a contributing factor in many of those. Not too long ago, we had two cops killed in a vehicle pursuit when their patrol cars slammed into each other at a rural intersection. It was estimated that they were traveling at high rates of speed at the time of the collision.

Speeding is a behavior that we can change. It’s simple: slow down. Realize that the faster you drive, the less reaction time you have for those unexpected roadway incursions: pedestrians, bicyclists, someone running a red light or someone not seeing you approach.

Ignored behavior is condoned behavior. If we see a fellow officer driving too fast and we don’t say anything to them about it, we are giving our tacit approval for their reckless conduct. If an officer routinely drives too fast and is not confronted about it, that behavior will likely continue until it becomes too late. You know- one of those things that isn’t a problem until it is one. And that may mean somebody being seriously injured or killed.

So, slow down. If you see a fellow officer driving too fast, say something. Be courageous enough to say something to them and mature enough to accept it if someone says it to you.

And that is Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Gordon Graham signing off.