5 ms·

Could we please do it in Sweden too. Sweden are too distracted in traffic for their own good, its like mobile phone zombies sometime, people staring at a piece

by acd 6y ago

Could we please do it in Sweden too. Sweden are too distracted in traffic for their own good, its like mobile phone zombies sometime, people staring at a piece of glass. This includes myself sometime. Also cell phones should be banned in traffic because it causes distractions. Attention in traffic is very important.

jesseb 6y ago
In my province in Canada there are hefty fines[1] for distracted driving, and yet I still constantly see people texting and driving. It's very frustrating, and as somebody who walks/transits whenever possible terrifying at times. I don't know how to get through to people. [1] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/distractions https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-an...
- kiliantics 6y ago
  At least where I live, in NYC, all city officials and representatives have the perk of free parking anywhere -- to the extent that they don't even get fined for parking say in a bus stop or next to a fire hydrant or even on the sidewalk or bike lane. With these people in charge of choosing and enforcing the rules of the road, we will never see safety or consideration for non-drivers. I see cops pull over cyclists for harmless stuff all the time, but see drivers pull outrageously reckless stunts on busy roads with no consequence. I think if people who are in charge of our safety don't know what it's like to navigate as a vulnerable pedestrian/cyclist/etc. on the road, and just see us as obstacles that are slowing them down, I don't think we will see change. (And this includes the average driver, who I believe should have to log some hundred miles or so of cycling before being given a licence to drive near cyclists.) The mayor of Paris cycles to work and has pedestrianised huge parts of the city and built massive numbers of cycle lanes. This is probably not why she was elected but it is probably something we should more seriously consider when appointing people who will have power over our public spaces.
zrobotics 6y ago
I had to have a very strong discussion with an employee yesterday, as I almost ran him over with a forklift. He was walking back from break, head buried in his phone. I don't care if he spends his break time on his phone, and truth be told I don't even care if he sends the occasional text while working. However, I definitely have a problem with walking around a hazardous warehouse environment and not looking as what you are doing. For context, I was reversing with a fairly precarious load and saw him walking toward my path. The backup alarm was going, and I even honked twice to get his attention. I finally had to yell loudly to get him to look up and stop. Thankfully I was paying attention (as I also expect all of our equipment operators to do), but I also expect anyone wandering through active working areas to also be paying attention to their surroundings. These requirements aren't because I want to be a jerk or make employees miserable, it is because I don't want anyone getting hurt. The warehouse I manage isn't a huge facility with 30 forklifts running around, but there is enough activity that I do expect people to be looking around for hazards, and that is a part of the employee handbook and training.
- stefan_ 6y ago
  Thankfully it's now 2020 and we've long since learned that putting "be vigilant" in the employee handbook doesn't do anything, just like "don't crash the plane" stickers on an instrument display don't do anything to stop plane crashes. Even OSHA, the lowest common denominator, requires you to clearly delineate pedestrian travel paths. Physical separation is highly recommended. What doesn't fucking help, and hasn't since the invention of motors in 1900, is "We need to talk about how I almost negligently ran you over".
  - zrobotics 6y ago
    That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have been almost entirely at fault. However, I don't think I'm getting 19th century in thinking someone walking through an active warehouse should be watching their surroundings. This is also an area where people pick stock off of rolling staircases, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to have a 45lb case of product be dropped off a rack. I should have mentioned in the original comment, it isn't just the handbook, we stress during training that this is a potentially hazardous area, and that you need to be aware of your surroundings. My goal isn't to avoid insurance/workman's comp claims; my goal is for everyone to leave at day's end safely & without injury. I realize there is no such thing as legislating safety, which is why we immediately point out any unsafe behaviors. There are unfortunately just some workplaces that by their very nature are hazardous. I spend ~40% of my time in an office environment, and the hazards there are tripping or paper cuts. However, for the warehouse I manage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect employees to be aware of their surroundings. This is a workplace where there is moving equipment, blind corners, people on ladders, and the possibility of falling objects. The bare minimum in this situation is to look where you are going. We have pedestrian travel paths, and he wasn't even close to one. He was so engrossed in whatever he was watching on his phone that he had wandered 60' away from where he even should have been to get back to his station. He was paying so little attention he was actively walking away from his destination.
kwhitefoot 6y ago
Sweden made it an offence to use a mobile while driving and then rescinded it when they discovered that the law made no difference to the accident rate.
- kiliantics 6y ago
  These things require enforcement. I rarely see or even hear of people getting tickets for using phones while driving here but, as a cyclist/motorcyclist that has to be very aware of traffic, I am constantly seeing people texting while driving. I also see most cops texting/playing candy crush in their cars too, which might explain the lack of enforcement.
- Barrin92 6y ago
  pretty difficult to know how high the compliance actually was. One of the first articles I could find was that the police found it difficult to apply. So likely less of an issue of it not being dangerous but rather hard to enforce.
  - kwhitefoot 6y ago
    My impression was that analysis of the accident statistics failed to reveal any effect. Of course that doesn't mean that there wasn't one but it does suggest that it was too small to be useful.

by acd 6y ago

jesseb 6y ago

In my province in Canada there are hefty fines[1] for distracted driving, and yet I still constantly see people texting and driving. It's very frustrating, and as somebody who walks/transits whenever possible terrifying at times. I don't know how to get through to people. [1] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/road-safety-rules-and-consequences/distractions https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-an...

kiliantics 6y ago
At least where I live, in NYC, all city officials and representatives have the perk of free parking anywhere -- to the extent that they don't even get fined for parking say in a bus stop or next to a fire hydrant or even on the sidewalk or bike lane. With these people in charge of choosing and enforcing the rules of the road, we will never see safety or consideration for non-drivers. I see cops pull over cyclists for harmless stuff all the time, but see drivers pull outrageously reckless stunts on busy roads with no consequence. I think if people who are in charge of our safety don't know what it's like to navigate as a vulnerable pedestrian/cyclist/etc. on the road, and just see us as obstacles that are slowing them down, I don't think we will see change. (And this includes the average driver, who I believe should have to log some hundred miles or so of cycling before being given a licence to drive near cyclists.) The mayor of Paris cycles to work and has pedestrianised huge parts of the city and built massive numbers of cycle lanes. This is probably not why she was elected but it is probably something we should more seriously consider when appointing people who will have power over our public spaces.

zrobotics 6y ago

I had to have a very strong discussion with an employee yesterday, as I almost ran him over with a forklift. He was walking back from break, head buried in his phone. I don't care if he spends his break time on his phone, and truth be told I don't even care if he sends the occasional text while working. However, I definitely have a problem with walking around a hazardous warehouse environment and not looking as what you are doing. For context, I was reversing with a fairly precarious load and saw him walking toward my path. The backup alarm was going, and I even honked twice to get his attention. I finally had to yell loudly to get him to look up and stop. Thankfully I was paying attention (as I also expect all of our equipment operators to do), but I also expect anyone wandering through active working areas to also be paying attention to their surroundings. These requirements aren't because I want to be a jerk or make employees miserable, it is because I don't want anyone getting hurt. The warehouse I manage isn't a huge facility with 30 forklifts running around, but there is enough activity that I do expect people to be looking around for hazards, and that is a part of the employee handbook and training.

stefan_ 6y ago
Thankfully it's now 2020 and we've long since learned that putting "be vigilant" in the employee handbook doesn't do anything, just like "don't crash the plane" stickers on an instrument display don't do anything to stop plane crashes. Even OSHA, the lowest common denominator, requires you to clearly delineate pedestrian travel paths. Physical separation is highly recommended. What doesn't fucking help, and hasn't since the invention of motors in 1900, is "We need to talk about how I almost negligently ran you over".
- zrobotics 6y ago
  That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have been almost entirely at fault. However, I don't think I'm getting 19th century in thinking someone walking through an active warehouse should be watching their surroundings. This is also an area where people pick stock off of rolling staircases, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to have a 45lb case of product be dropped off a rack. I should have mentioned in the original comment, it isn't just the handbook, we stress during training that this is a potentially hazardous area, and that you need to be aware of your surroundings. My goal isn't to avoid insurance/workman's comp claims; my goal is for everyone to leave at day's end safely & without injury. I realize there is no such thing as legislating safety, which is why we immediately point out any unsafe behaviors. There are unfortunately just some workplaces that by their very nature are hazardous. I spend ~40% of my time in an office environment, and the hazards there are tripping or paper cuts. However, for the warehouse I manage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect employees to be aware of their surroundings. This is a workplace where there is moving equipment, blind corners, people on ladders, and the possibility of falling objects. The bare minimum in this situation is to look where you are going. We have pedestrian travel paths, and he wasn't even close to one. He was so engrossed in whatever he was watching on his phone that he had wandered 60' away from where he even should have been to get back to his station. He was paying so little attention he was actively walking away from his destination.

kwhitefoot 6y ago

Sweden made it an offence to use a mobile while driving and then rescinded it when they discovered that the law made no difference to the accident rate.

kiliantics 6y ago
These things require enforcement. I rarely see or even hear of people getting tickets for using phones while driving here but, as a cyclist/motorcyclist that has to be very aware of traffic, I am constantly seeing people texting while driving. I also see most cops texting/playing candy crush in their cars too, which might explain the lack of enforcement.
Barrin92 6y ago
pretty difficult to know how high the compliance actually was. One of the first articles I could find was that the police found it difficult to apply. So likely less of an issue of it not being dangerous but rather hard to enforce.
- kwhitefoot 6y ago
  My impression was that analysis of the accident statistics failed to reveal any effect. Of course that doesn't mean that there wasn't one but it does suggest that it was too small to be useful.