Not a sign you see every day, is it a sign?

My typical drive in today was not so typical and I saw a sign I do not even think we cover in our online driver safety program.   The sign was flashing – “Slow Down – Animal Ahead” and there were a number of police officers with their lights on.   A little more detail, the road I was on is the Hardy Toll Road, a major alternate route North and South for those of us who live outside of Houston proper.   I was curious, what type of Animal was ahead, was it an alligator?  Maybe a horse?   A cow?   Deer?   I guess I will never know, as I never saw an animal, but the sign gave me plenty to write and think about.

DefensiveDriving.com’s Traffic School for Florida and our defensive driving courses in Texas cover a variety of signs we see every day when people are taking the course for ticket dismissal, point reduction or for discounts for auto insurance.   Our online driver safety products address the variety of signs we see daily as drivers.   Driving is so habitual and almost automatic that we forget the real importance of making sure we provide our full attention to driving, so when a unique sign gets you to stop and think about what you are doing, it really points out how second nature driving can become.   What is important is we focus on the task at hand.   Speed and the forces of nature are at work, with 3/4 ton vehicles all around, it is really important we are actually paying attention to the signs all around us!

DefensiveDriving.com’s safety driving video includes a section on signs… that section is below for your viewing pleasure!