To Me, Safety is More than Just a Hop, Skip and Drive

Last month, I was featured in a blog post highlighting the stories of seven women who have made lasting contributions to educational equity through transportation solutions. I was humbled and honored! The blog was written by Aylin Cook for HopSkipDrive as part of a Women’s History Month celebration.

HopSkipDrive is a mission-driven organization that has grown in its six years of existence to include a network of CareDrivers who work in many states, including Texas.

I am proud to serve on HopSkipDrive’s Safety Advisory Board. But transportation safety isn’t about me being honored or serving on an advisory board. Transportation safety is about people from diversified backgrounds working together to keep people safe on our roads. The people I serve with on HopSkipDrive’s Advisory Board share a passion and commitment to safety and adhere to a set of core values:

• Safety is Everything: We leave no stone unturned. We do all that we can to protect everyone who shares the road.
• Feel It: Empathy is the essence of all that we do.
• Own It: We don’t just show up, we engage fully and wholeheartedly.
• Make Tomorrow Better: We challenge assumptions and the status quo to achieve innovation.
• Drive: We feel an urgency to create opportunity for all, so we move fast, embrace flexibility and strive to act boldly.
• Empower Community: We embrace different perspectives and experiences because they make us stronger.
• Share Success: We empower our team to work together, experiment courageously and learn and grow from our shared trials.

These are values that speak to transportation safety and that we can all strive to reach in our everyday lives. Sure, speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving need to be addressed in transportation safety circles. But transportation safety is so much more than the challenge of conquering driver behavior issues. I view transportation safety as if it were a giant jigsaw puzzle, and I know it takes a lot of work to put all the pieces together.

One of the pieces that so often is overlooked is transportation safety for our vulnerable road users, including children who are present on our roads during peak morning and evening travel times. They are out there walking, bicycling or riding on school buses as you head to-and-from the office. They are small and not easily seen. This presents a safety risk for all.

In 2015, three working moms launched HopSkipDrive because they were looking for alternative ways to shuttle their kids to school and other activities. Now, the organization contracts with school districts and service agencies around the country so no one gets left behind.

 When we work to ensure children get where they are going in one piece, we are fulfilling a critical safety need and opening a pathway for our next generation of leaders to explore. When we lead with road safety, whether it’s in the workplace or anywhere else, we can reduce crash risks. We can also make lasting differences in the lives of people from all walks. That’s my motivation. What is yours?

– Lisa Robinson is a senior program manager with the National Safety Council