5 ms·

Everyone is oblivious to their surroundings. Whether it’s because they’re looking down at their smartphone or listening to a podcast or music on their AirPods,

by willj 7y ago

Everyone is oblivious to their surroundings. Whether it’s because they’re looking down at their smartphone or listening to a podcast or music on their AirPods, people aren’t paying attention to what’s happening around them, and they are walking out into streets without looking for cars, assuming no one is coming. I bike most places, and the number of pedestrians (and other bicyclists!) who can’t hear my bike bell is astounding.

dajohnson89 7y ago
getting around in nyc is more difficult than it has to be, because of people looking down at their phones.
djbrigidope 7y ago
you are supposed to slow down before running over people. bicycles are still vehicles.
- sideshowb 7y ago
  You are also not supposed to step from sidewalk into road without looking.
  - greggman2 7y ago
    It's hard for me to have sympathy for cyclists as I see so many run red lights and plow directly through pedestrians even when the pedestrians have the right of way. Maybe that's a few bad apples but it happens enough that it feels like the norm. Yes, 2 wrongs to make a right. If the light is red and the pedestrian is crossing without looking then I'd also be upset at the pedestrian.
    - alanbernstein 7y ago
      Try paying attention to cars running stop signs and red lights (and speeding!) some time. You might be surprised to realize how often you've ignored this happening.
    - 4ntonius8lock 7y ago
      Have that same attitude but change the word 'cyclist' for 'blacks' or 'latinos' or 'jews' or 'women'. Then you will see why your attitude is abhorrently wrong. Or maybe not. Up to you.
      - bananocurrency 7y ago
        ...you do know that people actively choose to be cyclists, right?
    - sideshowb 7y ago
      Have you ever taken note of how often motorists exceed the speed limit? I think you've shifted context from general sidewalks to red lights though. I think 99 percent of red light running cyclists would agree you have to do that carefully and assume people will step out at that point. The bad apples are the ones who aren't careful about it.
    - concordDance 7y ago
      To be fair to cyclists, them hittibg someone is orders of magnitude less dangerous than a car doing so. Bycicles are very light, narrow and slow so it's odd that as a society we expect them to follow rules designed for fast, heavy and wide vehicles.
flyinghamster 7y ago
> I bike most places, and the number of pedestrians (and other bicyclists!) who can’t hear my bike bell is astounding. Two words: Air Zound. It can get the attention of even the most oblivious jogger. ;) I can't stand to wear headphones when walking or biking. I want to hear what's around me.
- buboard 7y ago
  is it legal to wear headphones when biking?
  - mikestew 7y ago
    Probably not, in most places. I fail to see what difference it makes: people do it. Hell, I do it on occasion, and I don’t like wearing headphones when I’m riding.
    - buboard 7y ago
      riding a bike is already dangerous, riding with headphones is doubly so
      - rhn_mk1 7y ago
        In-ear headphones can surprisingly improve spatial awareness by reducing the wind noise at certain speeds. That assumes they are not playing anything though.
      - mikestew 7y ago
        Sure, but that’s orthogonal to laws and their effect on behavior. People ride with headphones, dangerous or not, legal or not. I’ll was honestly asking what difference a law makes when people obviously do it, and in areas where I’m sure it’s illegal. Hell, I’ll see people driving with a headphone in each ear, and I know for a fact that’s illegal in at least three states.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rapnie 7y ago
> I bike most places, and the number of pedestrians (and other bicyclists!) who can’t hear my bike bell is astounding. I recently started to notice how many people - young and old - nowadays are walking on the wrong side of the road, i.e. in the same lane with other traffic in the same direction. As a kid I always learned you should be in the opposite lane, so you can monitor oncoming traffic coming towards you, jump out of the way if needed. A safety measure (4 watchful eyes instead of 2). I guess more than half of people no longer do that, and I wondered if that was also an effect of our self-centered, smartphone society: 'I can't be bothered to take note of you, but I expect you to take notice of me'.
- gcarvalho 7y ago
  At least where I live (not US), the law states that bikes should not go against the traffic. Accidents are more dangerous in frontal collisions and the reaction window is shorter. I bike daily and I've been surprised a few times by other bikers coming against the traffic, especially in turns. edit: I think I misread you. You're talking about pedestrians. Oops.

by willj 7y ago

dajohnson89 7y ago

getting around in nyc is more difficult than it has to be, because of people looking down at their phones.

djbrigidope 7y ago

you are supposed to slow down before running over people. bicycles are still vehicles.

sideshowb 7y ago
You are also not supposed to step from sidewalk into road without looking.
- greggman2 7y ago
  It's hard for me to have sympathy for cyclists as I see so many run red lights and plow directly through pedestrians even when the pedestrians have the right of way. Maybe that's a few bad apples but it happens enough that it feels like the norm. Yes, 2 wrongs to make a right. If the light is red and the pedestrian is crossing without looking then I'd also be upset at the pedestrian.
  - alanbernstein 7y ago
    Try paying attention to cars running stop signs and red lights (and speeding!) some time. You might be surprised to realize how often you've ignored this happening.
  - 4ntonius8lock 7y ago
    Have that same attitude but change the word 'cyclist' for 'blacks' or 'latinos' or 'jews' or 'women'. Then you will see why your attitude is abhorrently wrong. Or maybe not. Up to you.
    - bananocurrency 7y ago
      ...you do know that people actively choose to be cyclists, right?
  - sideshowb 7y ago
    Have you ever taken note of how often motorists exceed the speed limit? I think you've shifted context from general sidewalks to red lights though. I think 99 percent of red light running cyclists would agree you have to do that carefully and assume people will step out at that point. The bad apples are the ones who aren't careful about it.
  - concordDance 7y ago
    To be fair to cyclists, them hittibg someone is orders of magnitude less dangerous than a car doing so. Bycicles are very light, narrow and slow so it's odd that as a society we expect them to follow rules designed for fast, heavy and wide vehicles.

flyinghamster 7y ago

> I bike most places, and the number of pedestrians (and other bicyclists!) who can’t hear my bike bell is astounding. Two words: Air Zound. It can get the attention of even the most oblivious jogger. ;) I can't stand to wear headphones when walking or biking. I want to hear what's around me.

buboard 7y ago
is it legal to wear headphones when biking?
- mikestew 7y ago
  Probably not, in most places. I fail to see what difference it makes: people do it. Hell, I do it on occasion, and I don’t like wearing headphones when I’m riding.
  - buboard 7y ago
    riding a bike is already dangerous, riding with headphones is doubly so
    - rhn_mk1 7y ago
      In-ear headphones can surprisingly improve spatial awareness by reducing the wind noise at certain speeds. That assumes they are not playing anything though.
    - mikestew 7y ago
      Sure, but that’s orthogonal to laws and their effect on behavior. People ride with headphones, dangerous or not, legal or not. I’ll was honestly asking what difference a law makes when people obviously do it, and in areas where I’m sure it’s illegal. Hell, I’ll see people driving with a headphone in each ear, and I know for a fact that’s illegal in at least three states.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

rapnie 7y ago

> I bike most places, and the number of pedestrians (and other bicyclists!) who can’t hear my bike bell is astounding. I recently started to notice how many people - young and old - nowadays are walking on the wrong side of the road, i.e. in the same lane with other traffic in the same direction. As a kid I always learned you should be in the opposite lane, so you can monitor oncoming traffic coming towards you, jump out of the way if needed. A safety measure (4 watchful eyes instead of 2). I guess more than half of people no longer do that, and I wondered if that was also an effect of our self-centered, smartphone society: 'I can't be bothered to take note of you, but I expect you to take notice of me'.

gcarvalho 7y ago
At least where I live (not US), the law states that bikes should not go against the traffic. Accidents are more dangerous in frontal collisions and the reaction window is shorter. I bike daily and I've been surprised a few times by other bikers coming against the traffic, especially in turns. edit: I think I misread you. You're talking about pedestrians. Oops.