One cold Melbourne Sunday morning, I drove through drizzle and light rain with only 1 functioning windscreen wiper. Wouldn’t recommend.
The rubber on the driver’s side blade had been flapping around for a while, threatening to come off. I had done nothing about it. So with one final flail, it flew off as I drove down a suburban street (sorry world).
I had noticed the defect a few days before the rain day, when I attempted to blast the windscreen for a quick clean after not having used the car for a while. But had not done anything straight away.
I knew it wouldn’t be good to drive with it in the rain, which was forecast on this particular day when I was scheduled to do a 50-minute drive, a large portion of which on the M1. So I chose a moment in between bouts of drizzle and took off.
The initial leg of the drive, before getting on the freeway, was okay. But once I got on the M1, light drizzle started coming down. Though the passenger side wiper blade was in perfect condition, the lack of visibility created by the defunct blade was serious, and surprising. I took to shifting my body to the left, more in line with the centre of the car, to the extent of the passenger side wiper blade’s range. But this bandaid fix whilst solving one problem, created others, leaving me unbalanced in my seat and unused to the perspective and dimensions of the car from that angle.
As the drizzle turned into light rain, conditions became dangerous. I got off the freeway and stopped for a while, electing to take the slower back roads as a longer, but safer journey. That afternoon, I ducked out in another gap in the rain to drive the car to an Autobarn, where I purchased a new rubber blade for $11, which they kindly installed for me.
The difference in the clarity/visibility was incredible. I’d never considered the safety of the windscreen wipers before, thinking of them more as a convenience – something that would be annoying to not have. But they were so much more.
With my newfound calm and a literal new perspective, it occurred to me that there may be comparatively small things in our business communications that could make our lives easier or more stable, which are similarly overlooked or underestimated.
After my nervous system had calmed after that harrowing drive in the rain, I made a vow to address car issues – even minor ones – as soon as I noticed them. Better to sort these things out on a sunny day when I have plenty of time, before it turns into an emergency situation in the rain, on the freeway, on a long drive or urgent errand.
Of course, our business comms may not be life and death situations like driving down a freeway in a vehicle. But they can help mitigate future risk, stress and wasted time.
My invitation is to use your ‘sunny’ business days to consider the rainy ones, and to what may help you stay dry and safe when they inevitably come.