Okay, admit it. As a child, or maybe even as an adult, you have stepped on one of your shoestrings and taken a spill. Totally preventable.

I work from home, but often tell people I have a 5k commute just to see their confusion. I go walk the track every morning at a local park. Have I tripped over my own shoelaces there in the pre-daylight hours?

No.

Have I taken my chances?

Yes.

See, there have been times when a shoelace has come untied, and I would always think, “Let me keep going until the next bench, then I will stop and tie it.” It’s dark, nobody is out there, so nobody sees me wildly swinging one leg wide to the outside or drastically far ahead with every stride so I don’t step on the loosened lace.

I promise this example has ties, no pun intended, to fleet safety. So, stick with me.

Somehow, I have always reached the next bench safely and pulled over to tie my shoe.

Is that any different from what drivers do? Think tires.

If I did a proper pre-trip inspection on my shoelaces, I would notice one appears loose and might come untied.

Do your drivers always, I mean always, do a good pre-trip walkaround, including checking their tires? Some might even suggest they put a tire gauge on each one, but realistically, that would probably be in an ideal fleet world.

So, I reach the next available park bench to tie my shoe, and that is what?

Downtime. Same as with a fleet vehicle.

But, also remember I mentioned wildly swinging one leg in all sorts of directions while avoiding stepping on the lace in order to safely reach that roadside repair spot, the park bench. Do drivers do the same?

Likely. Do they notice a tire problem and think they can stretch it to the next stop, or make it back to the yard and then worry about it? Maybe, but that thought would make fleet managers cringe.

So maybe I make it to my downtime park bench, and maybe they make it safely to the next stop.

I am cheating safety when I don’t stop immediately and tie my shoe. Likewise, they are cheating, or really testing safety, when they don’t stop immediately when they suspect a tire problem.

And really, that immediacy to pull over should apply to any mechanical problems or concerns, whether tires, brakes, lighting, or anything else that becomes an issue during a day on the road.

But all this, in both scenarios, could be prevented with a good pre-trip check of the tires and shoelaces.