Checking in with the non conforming mindset

Last week, we had heavy snowstorms across large parts of Sweden. In Sk?ne, the southernmost region of the country, about one thousand vehicles were immobilized on a major motorway for almost a day, until they were rescued by civil protection and military forces.

That evening, as I was driving to my home in Stockholm area via a two-lane motorway, I noticed a long queue of cars lined up behind a snow removing truck. The truck was moving on the right lane with its beacon lights on, at a speed of about 50 km/h below the limit. As a former professional of winter operations on national roads, I always applaud such patient behavior by drivers, as a sign of a safety culture and respectfulness to professionals doing their work.

As I also got in line, my attention was drawn by the sight of the empty left lane, that actually looked suspiciously good. So, I decided to ‘sidestep’ to it and test. The friction felt normal so I drove by until I came closer to the head of the queue, where I could have a closer look at the truck. The light snowfall, lit by the cars' headlamps obstructed somewhat the view of the salt spreader at the aft of the vehicle, but I could certainly tell that it was not spinning. I stepped on the gas a little more. Then, I saw that the snow plough was uplifted as well and also that the lane right ahead of the truck looked cleaned too.

At that point, I could verify that the truck was just on transportation mode and the road was already well taken care of. So, I felt confident with overtaking and I continued my drive home on the empty motorway, arriving safely, about 25 minutes earlier than if I had stayed lined up.

When I replayed the event in my mind, I decided that technical expertise was not among the main ‘ingredients’ of successfully challenging the majority’s choice. It would just need ‘milligrams’ of curiosity to take a closer look, a ‘crumb’ of rational processing of the facts and a small 'chunk' of decisiveness, going against the common sense in spite of giving the momentary impression of a small-time opportunist or a fearless 'daredevil’ of the road. No rocket science involved here, in fact, a few other drivers did the same.

I attributed the majority’s choice to fair factors. The likely mistaken judgment of the car heading the queue, that conveyed a false chain message to the following ones, the collective psychology possibly influenced by the ‘swarming’ breaking news about the situation in Sk?ne, and the truck’s beacon lights, which reinforced the misinformation about an ongoing operation to those at the middle and rear parts of the queue. All that against a sole, minor clue left to 'spark' a suspicion that became a certainty that the majority got it wrong this time: An already cleaned left lane.

Disclaimer: Opinions and views expressed on LinkedIn are solely my own and do not reflect the positions or beliefs of my employer or any organizations I collaborate with.