The safety toolbox talk ran over that morning, causing the route service rep, we’ll call him Joe, to get a late start on his route. Before he could get to his truck, his company’s sales rep pulled him aside to give some last-minute details about a new account he had just installed on Joe’s route. This meant Joe got an even later start.

To make things worse, that night Joe’s son was a starting player in his basketball game, and it was going to be an early game. Joe wanted to make sure he was there to watch, so he ...