

Why smartphone owners won't give – even when they're not using their phones - twoshedsmcginty
http://thestack.com/smartphone-distracted-walking-collision-220215

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clsec
As a disabled person, I have noticed this to be a huge problem in San
Francisco over the past 5 years or so. I regularly get pushed into walls and
trees as groups of young people walk by. A courtesy I learned as a young child
walking in the financial district with my father was to always get into a
single file line when approaching a group walking towards your group. It is
also a common courtesy to walk on the right side of the sidewalk, like
roadways, when walking against oncoming people.

And while I have your attention.. It is also common courtesy, and something
San Franciscans have known for years, to remove ones backpack when riding
MUNI. Either wear it in the front or put it down between your legs. That way
you are not unknowingly smashing people in the face or taking up too much
space on a crowded bus.

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mindslight
The primary cause is society losing the concept of courtesy, but the secondary
cause is people losing the concept of spite. You can thank all of the able-
bodied people that have enabled this behavior by accommodating it instead of
standing up for themselves.

I give about 65% of the sidewalk to an oncoming person/group. I'm not slowing
down either way. Most people take the hint.

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gaius
Nothing to do with smartphones, it's a wider thing. For example, two parents
with pushchairs will walk side by side, expecting other pedestrians to step
into the gutter or into the road. Or cyclists riding on the pavement,
especially on Boris Bikes in London, who adopt the policy of just riding
straight at pedestrians as if they're not even there.

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Terr_
I'm just waiting for two of them to have a head-on collision.

An amusing negative-feedback loop when the population gets too high.

