
Eyes down, minds elsewhere, ‘deadwalkers’ are among us - rl3
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/eyes-down-minds-elsewhere-deadwalkers-are-among-us/2015/09/27/a3ad1da2-51bb-11e5-8c19-0b6825aa4a3a_story.html
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manicdee
I have been reading while walking since I could first read. Lord of the Rings
and Dune occupied lunch times, and I would often walk my bike home, bike in
one hand, book in the other.

Reading while walking is no more or less dangerous than walking while
daydreaming, thinking about a work project, being drunk, or otherwise
cognitively impaired.

What this study is showing is that a great many people are not being told the
basic rules of walking and chewing gum at the same time:

1\. Pay attention to the world occasionally. At my reading pace, each fullstop
was sufficient frequency to dodge running children, navigate dodderers who
couldn't decide whether they wanted the left side or right side of the
footpath, and even fast-moving bicycles.

2\. Do not give the appearance of being distracted while crossing roads,
otherwise car drivers will take it upon themselves to correct your behaviour
by various means from honking horns, through yelling out their windows all the
way to driving across the pedestrian crossing and expecting you to jump out of
their way.

3\. Look up. Look down. Simply glancing over the edge of your book is not
enough, you may miss the low hanging branch that scones you, or the loose
brick that stumbles you.

4\. Feel your way with your feet. You can not maintain your normal gait. Do
not transfer weight to your feet until you have firm purchase.

Out of all the hazards I have encountered in 30-something years of reading
while walking, the ones that have come closest to causing me harm are low-
hanging tree branches (the ones that are just above eye height but under
scalp-height), and over-zealous car drivers.

I swear people's brains cease functioning properly when they get behind the
wheel of a car.

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dukoid
Car lobbyists blaming the victims again, like when inventing "jaywalking"?

~~~
xlm1717
Really, using victim blaming?

Everyone should be paying attention on the roads. That means pedestrians too.
Walking across the street completely oblivious to your surroundings is just
plain stupid. Walking just on the sidewalk completely oblivious to your
surroundings leaves you vulnerable to all manner of hazards.

>“I’ve seen videos of people falling into fountains and running into signs, so
I look up every couple of seconds.”

The article reveals that even walking around the house completely absorbed by
your smartphone can result in injuries.

>One surprise was that more than half of injuries happened while people were
fixated on their cellphones while walking in their homes.

If you're stopped at a crosswalk, as someone in the article said, or if you're
sitting down or waiting in line or whatever, fine. If you're walking around
completely distracted, however, you are putting yourself in danger.

It's hard for car lobbyists to blame the victim when the victim runs into a
pole or trips over something on the ground.

