Risk Management Magazine

Millions of motorists take to the road every day, but most don't realize the pivotal role that driver's training and thorough safety inspections play in averting catastrophic tire blowouts and safeguarding lives. Join me on a journey as I recount a harrowing incident on a scorching summer afternoon, where swift action and preparedness prevented a potentially fatal rollover.

It was 3 a.m. on a Sunday when I received a call from the brigade staff duty NCO. As a company first sergeant, you dread the middle-of-the-night phone call because the news is never good. This call wasn’t an exception. One of our Soldiers had been involved in an accident just 200 meters away from the battalion and brigade headquarters. I hung up the phone, crawled out of bed and prepared for the worst.

I was headed home from a 15-month-long deployment when I boarded a plane in Stuttgart, Germany. I sat impatiently on the plane, my mind filled with thoughts of seeing my family and friends once again. The trip from Germany was long, but it passed quickly as I thought about home. In all that excitement, not once did I imagine what was in store when we landed stateside.