One thing about having a dashboard camera on your truck, is you get an opportunity to review your driving mistakes. Last week driving back from Kaaterskill Falls, I had to slam on my brakes when I suddenly came up against stopped traffic in Catskill during rush hour. I didn’t see the stopped car in front of me until I was rapidly approaching it. While I stopped in plenty of time, I wanted to know why I didn’t see the stopped car in front of me until I had to rapidly apply the brakes. I normally try to avoid hitting the brakes hard in my truck.

It turns out I was running a yellow light to try to save some time, or because I was distracted looking at the Christmas lights or the scenery along US 9W/NY 23A in Catskill. Whether or not I should have stopped for yellow was debatable — the light had just turned — but I really should have not only been focused on speeding through the light but what was ahead of me a half of block. I should have also been driving a little bit slower with the traffic, so I could have safe distance to stop.

Driving can be a challenge, and human attention can be limited, but I like being able to review my driving experience later.