Helena Independent Register - 2/3/2012

BUTTE — Why did a sober, middle-aged man lead Butte police on a dangerous, high-speed chase through Butte and on the interstate early Thursday?

“I just always wanted to do that,” he said, according to the Butte police report.

John C. Hughes, 55, is accused of trying to evade a police patrol by driving at high speeds through Butte and on the interstate just to see what it would be like, police reported.

Hughes likely found out it involved severe tire damage, because police used “stop sticks” to deflate his tires during the chase in order to get him to stop, according to the police report. Hughes was arrested without further incident and faces a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving while eluding police.

Investigators say Hughes wasn’t intoxicated and they didn’t find drugs or other contraband in his vehicle. Sheriff John Walsh said the man allegedly told officers afterward that he always wanted to see what it would be like to be in a chase with police.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of anything like that,” the sheriff said.

This article from a recent Montana newspaper and the actions of this driver makes you scratch your head and say "what? . . . He just wanted to!"

Not quite as obvious, but the same thing can be said of our actions when it comes to safety.

Each of us get rushed or hurried or just complacent and take short cuts that aren't safe and may cause us to have an injury. Things like not locking equipment out, not wearing the proper PPE for the task, skipping the safety checklist. You know what they are, as you've probably stopped at some point and made a conscious decision to forgo following the safe way to do it.

That's what this Montana driver did. He decided he just wanted to "do it", so he did. Now many of you may think it's no big deal as he didn't get hurt during the incident. The key to this is no one got hurt THIS TIME.

The scenerios are endless as he was doing what he wanted on the high speed chase. The police could have crashed, someone could have walked out in the road, he could have lost control due to the stop sticks, etc. The fact is, he not only put HIS life in jeopardy, but the lives and well being of all those in the community.

The same applies to you when you make those conscious decisions not to follow the safety procedures. You may think it will only affect you, however the risks you take can impact your coworkers and the community in ways that may not be obvious or haven't occurred before.

Think about that before you make that decision next time and do it the safe way.