Cell phones degrade situational awareness.

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ms6852

ms6852

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Due to construction at my place of employment we have had to park several miles away from work and get on busses that herds us away like cattle to work. Regardless of the hour whether it is 5:00 A.M. or 10:00 P.M. when I board the bus 99% of the people are texting or online on their cell phone.

I find that they have no idea who is seating behind them or next to them. I wondered if I was to give someone a whack on the head how many would actually be able to clearly state that they saw me do it, when they are to busy texting or playing with their I phones.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg11glsBW4Y
As seen here, people become glued to the almightly device and sometimes walk into fountains. Its not just cellphones though, I work at a grocery store and often times I push carts back inside from the parking lot and I see this alot. People also like to read their receipt right in the way of where I'm pushing the carts and get within a foot of them and the still don't notice till I say "excuse me sir/ma'am" twice usually before they notice whats going on.
 
This was mentioned in my concealed carry class.

Earphones and music players don't help either.
 
Distraction in potentially hazardous circumstances is always a problem - for all of us. That's why pickpockets work in teams and why other types of planned incidents involve one or more events that were designed to distract... It's a technique that can and will be used by both sides of any incident (I once off loaded two SWAT members from the water when they were serving a hazardous warrant on a guy who lived on a houseboat. To keep anyone from noticing their approach I then served as the distraction, running my small skiff in circles inside the marina while creating as much disturbance as possible.... worked like a charm - the two officers made their approach safely and were in just the right position when the rest of the team approached the houseboat from a nearby parking lot).

Some years ago my department ran serious officer survival training that involved everything from one on one encounters to short vehicle chases that were designed to end in ambushes (and everyone in training was "killed" on more than one occasion). To really bring the training home we videotaped each incident to show the officers what they did right and what was very likely to put them at a severe disadvantage.

To make the situations as real as possible (short of using live ammo instead of blanks) we even included a dedicated dispatcher who was told to deal with each situation the way she would if it was happening on her regular watch (dispatchers in Dade county are remote from any Department so all of her contact with each incident was radio only and the officer involved was her only contact with any of what was happening in each scenario. We found that many officers when shots were fired retreated to their vehicles to reach their radios and ask for help..... Some were so fixated on using the radio that they forgot all of the basic safety stuff when they had been the target of an attempted ambush.....and of course the dispatcher kept asking for more info with each officer's transmission..... Showing all of this on video to each group of officers really brought it home. Yes, we also taught them to forget communications until they were in a location that provided cover from incoming fire - even to deliberately not answer the radio if they were in a potentially dangerous situation (if a cop doesn't answer his/her radio help will be coming automatically...).

Training yourself to be aware of what's around you in public is a vital part of self defense. Looking to see what's actually occurring when some kind of possible distraction is occurring is something professionals should practice daily.

I'll get down off of my soapbox now.
 
Are these buses for the exclusive use of people you work with? If so I don't think most people would be concerned with being attacked in that situation. SA is great but you can back off in certain circumstances.
 
I'd worry a lot less about a bus than the "living zombies" should walking around talking/texting. Being "here" "now" is a critical part of situational awareness and the more distractions we bring into our lives the less we are aware of what is going on around us while we're using them.

Southnarc points out that there are times it is appropriate to focus on your idiot box and times it is reckless. Transitioning from one relatively controlled area to another through an uncontrolled area is a prime time/place for an attack to take place. Finish your conversation before leaving the building or car and stepping out into the wider world.
 
I don't think letting your guard down for a little bit while in a very controlled environment, aka on the bus with your co-workers is necessarily a bad thing.

You must really not like your co-workers. 8)
 
Im guilty of talking on my phone but I can still look around and maintain SA. I never text, much to my friends annoyance. I am never glued to the almighty device.

In a pinch, my phone would make a formidable weapon too.
 
Nushif said:
I don't think letting your guard down for a little bit while in a very controlled environment, aka on the bus with your co-workers is necessarily a bad thing.

You must really not like your co-workers. 8)
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In my opinion there is no such thing as controlled environment, just restricted. I like my co-workers which is why there is added concern for situational awareness...I want to keep them safe.
 
Couple of Doc's rules regarding cell phones.

I only answer or use cell when seated.

Never in a vehicle.

I dont text.

Text me and you wont do it again.

The ignore button is a major feature. Leave a message I will get back to you. ( When seated and secure)

Keep the pizza guy and gun store on speed dial.
 
On the other hand,

I only use the phone when standing - because my calls are personal only, nobody needs to hear me say "Yes, dear" repeatedly, interrupting their conversation.

I generally text only - call me and you don't get answered. I work retail, it's against the rules and could get you a writeup. Delivery drivers are terminated for having them in company vehicles. THAT'S real enforcement.

Cell phones or not, most casual shopper zombies will clog trafficways with their inane personal exchanges, standing in doorways, halls, and staircases because they can't walk and converse simultaneously. Apparently too much language processing overwhelms motor control. Since they are generally operating "white" anyway, with NO sense of risk whatsoever, and certainly are more important than anyone else in immediate eyesight, if they take up valuable space and oxygen, maybe you need to just be nice and mind your place in the social heirarchy.

Don't worry about those lemmings on the bus, they will likely survive a crash better off by not tensing up before impact anyway. They have a right to be stupid - it's the American way.
 
I agree %100. I see a whole bunch of people that walk into objects while texting around my work place. Checking your texts or playing with the latest apps degrades your situational awareness. You're either aware or you're not. There isn't any middle ground with this.

You must really not like your co-workers. 8)
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Rule #1- Have a plan.
Rule #2- Have a backup plan because your plan will fail.
Rule#3- Be polite, be courteous, be respectful...but have a plan to kill everyone around you. :)
 
I never text message (except during major emergencies when phone lines may all be tied up), I only make mobile calls when I need to, and I only receive mobile calls when I can drop whatever I'm doing (and maintain as much situational awareness as possible while keeping the calls short). Things like cell phones and other portable devices have hardly changed my behavior at all, and frankly I don't see why they should. They can be useful--even life-SAVING--tools at times, much like firearms, but just because I have something doesn't mean that I should use it constantly and unnecessarily like a zombie. :rolleyes: Imagine if we did that with guns, shooting out lights when we go to bed and stuff like that. :eek: A lot more people would be killed by accident in such a hypothetical scenario, much like how people are senselessly killed in real life because of their obliviousness to the world around them, thanks to modern electronics. :uhoh:

By the way, most people are actually quite surprised at my attitude, since being a software engineer, I guess they expect me to worship technology and wholeheartedly embrace every aspect of it, but I'm still a human being--I program electronics, they do not program me! ;)

GRIZ22 said:
Are these buses for the exclusive use of people you work with? If so I don't think most people would be concerned with being attacked in that situation. SA is great but you can back off in certain circumstances.
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Yeah I know, it's not like people have EVER murdered their coworkers, huh? :uhoh:

ForumSurfer said:
Rule#3- Be polite, be courteous, be respectful...but have a plan to kill everyone around you. :)
Click to expand...

But actually kill only those who need to be killed, of course. ;)
 
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