Friday 9 November 2018

A lack of attention

Coming home from my massage the other day, we had to sit behind a waiting lorry whilst a white van came in the opposite direction. A young lady, wearing ear phones, walking on the pavement, saw we had all stopped and decided to cross the road - without checking behind her. The poor van driver slammed on his brakes, turning white in the process.

Luckily for her, he was driving below 30mph. Just as the front of his van dipped during braking, she saw him and reeled herself in.

Later in the week, on the way to training, a similar thing happened to us. We were approaching a pedestrian crossing, having already noticed, a baby buggy, mum and grandma walking near us on our left. Without warning or indeed looking, the mother turned her buggy, sharp right onto the crossing, straight in front of us.

DB slammed on his brakes, everything on the back seat fell on the floor, and we heard Ruby slide into the back of her car crate with a thump. The mother held her hand up with an embarrassed smile, mouthed sorry and continued to cross!

I can honestly say I have never done that with DS, always stopping well clear and checking before stepping out.

Two different but very lucky escapes methinks.

16 comments:

  1. The lack of attention of some folk is very worrying, especially those that walk along head down playing with their phones ... sometimes even while pushing a baby or toddler in a buggy ... it makes you responsible for their safety as well as your own.

    I also wonder sometimes at people out jogging or riding bikes with headphones on, how can you be aware of your surroundings when you are engrossed in music or audio books?

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    Replies
    1. Personal safety doesn’t seem to occur to them. I always like to be aware of who is around me.

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  2. Scary, good on hubby for being alert. Apart from the risk of being run over when they're engrossed in their phones, aren't people worried about being mugged? Obviously not.

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  3. Driving her in Brighton is a hair raising experience, getting more and more so. We used to love driving but its not what it was.
    Briony
    x

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    Replies
    1. All driving seems to be getting worse, certainly on roundabouts.

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  4. People just seem to be unaware of their surrounding environment these days! This habit of using ear thingys and mobile phones when walking is so dangerous.

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    Replies
    1. Very dangerous indeed and how would you know if someone was about to jump on you?

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  5. I have noticed people do not pay attention to what is happening around them. I blame the use of cell phones here as so many seem to be on them while walking these days.

    God bless.

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  6. I was reversing out of my parking spot at the supermarket last week when suddenly noticed a young man with his earphones in, looking at and fiddling with his phone - ploughing onwards. He was oblivious to my car and carried on walking behind my car and I had to slam on the brakes. He never did see me.

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    Replies
    1. So annoying. This happens to us all the time.

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  7. Scary, those earphones have a lot to answer for.

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  8. Be very careful of these incidents, they could be set up as part of a crash for cash. Distracting a driver so they bump the car in front is how it works, followed by an insurance claim that escalates into a personal injury claim.

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    Replies
    1. Luckily for us, no cars were involved just pedestrians being idiots.

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