Texting While Walking Obscures Hazards
Texting while walking obscures hazards — hazards that those of us who are not texting while walking would say are obvious.
This is never more apparent than in the story of the texting teenage girl who fell into an open manhole on a sidewalk along which she was walking.
This story is covered in:
- Tip #4 in my book 123 Cellphone Tips for Runners and Walkers
- The Q&A document for SpryFeet.com’s “Alert and Alive” pledge campaign
- A news clip on the Web
Some of the comments beneath that video clip are vicious, in my opinion.
But I agree with the popular reaction from commenters that the teen should accept some responsibility for not seeing the open manhole. I mean, it is not as if the manhole were the color of the concrete on the sidewalk — as if it were some sort of “stealth” manhole using the cloaking technology seen on Star Trek.
I heard in the video clip a reference to “Wednesday night” but did not hear further clarification about how bright it was around the manhole. The teen argues in the video that she would have noticed bright-orange cones, had the city placed them around the open manhole. But then I wondered whether she would have seen those cones in the “Wednesday night” darkness. In other words, if it were bright enough to see cones, then it would have been bright enough to see an open manhole.
An online news story said that the incident occurred at “about 5 p.m.” on July 8, 2009, on Staten Island in New York. Wondering further about the “Wednesday night” reference, I found a sunrise-&-sunset calculator that requires a ZIP Code and a date. Using 10310 as a ZIP Code in Staten Island, I found from the calculator that the sun did not set that day on that manhole until almost 8:30 p.m., which tells me that there was more than enough daylight at “about 5 p.m.” for the teen to see the manhole.
And I still say that the primary responsibility for her own safety rests on her. Had she not been texting while walking, she should have seen the open manhole.
What do think? Am I being too tough on her? Or does this teen need some tough love when it comes to taking personal responsibility and being safe with her cellphone while walking?
Please put your thoughts in a comment here. Thanks!
