By Brenda Williams
Vehicle safety is extremely important for not only motorists but for pedestrians as well. When I was in the police department, every morning- or before each shift began, it was our responsibility to go out to our assigned cars and go through a detailed list of safety inspections to make sure that the vehicles we were getting into were without any problems. If we came across a problem there was a dry erase board located inside the squad room as well as a book that we had to write down any and all maintenance issues with the cars. This was, perhaps, one of the most important duties that we had when it came to our safety as well as the safety of the public.
When I was a rookie police officer, the importance of vehicle inspections were always an issue and one that you were constantly tested on as a “newbie”. For example, one of the key things that the officers were responsible for was to check the back seat of their police vehicles. The back seat was caged in, and this is where we would put people that we had apprehended. Before and after each shift as well as before and after you apprehended someone, you were supposed to check this area for any contraband or dangerous weapons. And it wasn’t uncommon while we were on training for our training officers to hide things in the back seats of our patrol cars in order to test whether or not we were following the safety code of ethics as part of our daily vehicle inspections. One time, while checking the back seat of my patrol car as a part of a routine inspection, I found a sizable switchblade knife. It turned out that it belonged to my training officer at the time, who was testing me to see whether or not I would thoroughly check the back seat area. But this just goes to show you that you could never be too careful.
The last thing you want, as a police officer, is for a criminal to get into the back seat of your patrol car and find a weapon and then use it against you. There have been instances in the past where police officers didn’t thoroughly check their vehicles and criminals were able to find weapons which they then used against the officers, in some cases- killing the officer. While vehicle inspections are one of the most important responsibilities that a police officer has, everyday people also have a responsibility to themselves as well as to other drivers out there to check their vehicles for wear and tear as well as any other damage. For example, there were a few mornings during college when I went out to my car, and upon walking around it, discovered that one of my tires was flat. Had I not been vigilant, I may have caused an accident or wound up stranded in a place that I didn’t want to be stranded in.
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