Pilot Mindsets and Enhanced Safety

On 9/9/2011 6:41 AM, Mike Schumann wrote:
On 8/22/2011 1:22 PM, BobW wrote:
On 8/22/2011 2:08 AM, Bruce Hoult wrote:

Prolixity mostly snipped...


This does not mean that those who are less safe than average will
suddenly become safe if they drop their insurance.

Here I disagree, to the extent that most people ARE monetarily limited
and to that extent WILL modify their behavior if they unequivocally KNOW
their wallet WILL be lighter after they cause a (survivable) accident.
Human nature is real...and evidently little changing over the millenia.
Ignore it to your own (frustration, peril, inaccuracy of thinking,
increased personal [if misplaced] comfort level!).

They may not ever KNOW (or admit) they've changed their behavior, but
change it likely will. Casino gambling aside, how many people do you
know who routinely (burn, give away great gobs of, tear up) cash from
their bank accounts? Why don't they?

Regards,
Bob W.
The biggest change in mindset might not be on the flying pilot, but on other
club members who will be much more focused on preventing accidents and
confronting and limiting the flight privileges of pilots they view as
accidents waiting to happen.


Cogent observation. And it touches upon what's almost certainly a *very*
sensitive (in the U.S., anyway) point regarding clubs and club ships. I'd
argue U.S. club-members 'on average' are (sensitive to, touchy about, wary of)
anyone daring to tread upon ('safety nazi,' 'Who appointed YOU king,' etc.)
territory.

That noted, club cultures can - and do, even if usually slowly - change, and
not always for the safer. I'd further argue - if any(one in a) club is seeking
(to be an agent of) change toward the safer, that said change will - one way
or another - be psychologically trying (if not outright painful) to
initiate/endure. I suppose my blunt response to anyone pointing towards 'club
inertia' as a justification for NOT veering intentionally and consciously
toward the road of enhancing their club's safety culture by actively embracing
peer review - and 'where justified' peer pressure - would be: "Deal with it."
Better a self-chosen club path than one forced upon a club by 'accident trauma.'

As always...the devil is in the details. Simply achieving serious club
discussion of the issue would be a HUGE accomplishment, and major step toward
identifying and taming the devils, IMO. It would also almost certainly help
validate and enable motivated individuals in the club. Club members are going
to talk about SOMEthing in their non-flying moments; 'generic pattern
practices' (including the minefield of potential metrics coupled to the topic)
should-oughta be an active component of such discussions.

Philosophically,
Bob W.

P.S. Quite a few times over the years, my club's peanut gallery has humorously
expressed the wish for scorecards - a la 'Olympic skating-like' judging.
Naturally, the comments generally occur after particularly graceless - no
harm, no foul - landings. Personally, I think it's a great idea for multiple
reasons. Even better would be if we included *pattern* scorecard numbers, too;
these could be of a different color. Not all peer pressure has to be
unremittingly painful.