I’ve been thinking about situational awareness.
Actually, this one started today.
I stopped at a local home improvement store and parked my pickup by pulling through into the next parking space. I was very aware of where I stopped, particularly because I had a trailer hitch in the receiver. The hitch was well inside the white line of the parking space.
When I came back out, I noticed a couple waiting near my truck. They were about my age, maybe a little younger.
Apparently, while I was inside, they had driven into my trailer hitch.
Stuff happens.
Parking lots are busy. Trailer hitches aren’t always easy to see. Had they simply said, “Hey, we didn’t see your hitch and bumped into it,” I probably wouldn’t have given it much more thought.
But that’s not quite how the conversation went.
They were upset with me because of how I had parked my truck. The comment was something to the effect of wishing people with trucks wouldn’t pull through and park that way because the hitch can be difficult to see.
Now I’m standing there thinking, Wait a minute. You drove into my stationary truck, and we’re discussing how I parked?
Still, I asked what they wanted to do about it.
There didn’t appear to be any significant damage, maybe a ding to the bumper and license plate. But I was perfectly willing to have a police report made and exchange whatever information was necessary if they wanted to pursue an insurance claim.
They didn’t.
Apparently, they mostly wanted me to know that they thought I shouldn’t have parked my truck that way.
And that’s when the whole thing became more interesting to me than a minor parking-lot bump.
I actually wondered afterward whether I had missed something. Maybe there was some rule about pulling through parking spaces or leaving a trailer hitch in the receiver.
So I looked.
I couldn’t find anything in Missouri state law prohibiting a pickup from pulling through a parking space or requiring someone to remove an ordinary receiver hitch while parked. Missouri certainly has laws dealing with accidents and property damage, including accidents on private property, but I couldn’t find the special provision that says, “If you don’t notice somebody’s stationary truck, blame the truck owner.”
Maybe I overlooked that one.
And to be fair, circumstances matter. If I’d left a hitch sticking several feet out into the driving lane, that would be a different conversation.
But I hadn’t.
My truck was stationary, nobody was in it, and the hitch was inside the marked parking space.
Which brings me back to what I’ve really been thinking about.
Whatever happened to situational awareness?
During my years in the Air Force, situational awareness was something we talked about constantly. It wasn’t just a catchy phrase. It meant knowing what was happening around you, anticipating what might happen next, and recognizing that you have some responsibility for your own actions.
Obviously, a home improvement store parking lot isn’t a military operation.
But the basic principle still applies.
Pay attention to what’s around you.
When you’re driving, look where you’re going. When you’re backing up, don’t depend entirely on the camera. When you’re walking across a parking lot, occasionally look up from your phone. If something doesn’t look right, stop for a second and figure it out.
Technology has given us backup cameras, parking sensors, blind-spot warnings, automatic braking, lane-keeping systems and enough warning chimes to make a modern vehicle sound like a casino.
All of those things are useful.
But none of them replaces the person behind the wheel.
And maybe that’s the larger issue.
We seem increasingly inclined to look for someone or something else to blame when we make a mistake.
Sometimes there isn’t anyone else to blame.
Sometimes you just screwed up.
I’ve certainly done it.
I’ve backed into things. I’ve missed turns. I’ve overlooked something that should have been obvious. I’ve had moments when I’ve wondered, “How in the hell did I not see that?”
That’s part of being human.
But there’s a difference between making a mistake and refusing to own it.
Had this couple laughed and said, “Well, we sure didn’t see that hitch,” it probably would have been a funny thirty-second conversation between strangers in a parking lot.
Instead, I walked away thinking about something much bigger than a trailer hitch and a slightly dinged bumper and license plate.
Maybe situational awareness isn’t just knowing what’s happening around us.
Maybe it’s also recognizing our own role in what just happened.
We can’t eliminate every mistake. We’re human. We’re going to make them.
But maybe when we do, our first instinct shouldn’t always be to look around for somebody else to blame.
Sometimes the appropriate response really is:
“Well, I screwed that one up.”
Learn from it. Pay a little more attention next time. Move on.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking…
If you drive into my trailer hitch while I’m inside a store shopping, I’ll gladly discuss what we need to do about it.
But I’m probably going to have a hard time accepting that I shouldn’t have parked there because you didn’t see my truck.
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