OT - Look where you are going, go where you are looking

[inkman]

This is an old adage I heard at work years ago, it still holds true to this day.  It was tossed around for safety concerns.  You can get really injured in a factory if you aren’t careful of your surroundings.  
 

This also applies outside the workplace.  Or at least it should.  Every single day I have to adjust the route I’m walking because someone essentially walks directly at me, with no intention of engaging me or interacting with me.  I’m not certain what their plan is. One of us is going to have to adjust and these morons seem completely oblivious they are walking directly into the path of another person.  
 

I’ve gotten to the point where I usually make it very obvious that I am adjusting my route because of said person’s trajectory.  Either these people have absolutely no self awareness, they can’t even fathom that their actions might impact another person.  Or they are super arrogant just assuming everyone is going to move for them.  

[mjd1001]

We have a cat that practices this better than any people.  He can't walk in a straight line. If he looks slightly to the right, he ends up walking slightly to the right. Turns his head while walking slightly to the left, and his path changes slightly to the left. I swear I haven't seen this cat walk in a straight line.  People can learn from animals.

[MattPie]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

I’ve gotten to the point where I usually make it very obvious that I am adjusting my route because of said person’s trajectory.  Either these people have absolutely no self awareness, they can’t even fathom that their actions might impact another person.  Or they are super arrogant just assuming everyone is going to move for them.  

YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM, it reinforces that people will move for them lol!

I think the middle ground is you stop, and they'll either go around you (dominance asserted!) or walk into you and you can be mad at them. Or they can stop too and it'll be a stalemate. To counter that, I suggest you carry a red cape and step to the side while holding it out and shout, "ole!" as they go by.

[Randall Flagg]

The other day I was driving down 20A (a horrible road, full of cross-state travelers who think 55 means 45 and 35 means 48 and who for some reason are told to use that road instead of 86 or 90 by cursed Google maps)

 

Going down hill into warsaw, I was behind one of these charming gentlemen, who had slowed down to 30mph about a quarter mile before the sign warns of the speed change. The driver of the minivan behind me was texting and not looking where they were going, and was barreling towards us at 65+ mph, I was watching the whole way, but had nowhere to go because of a huge curb and guard rail on my right and oncoming traffic on my left. I braced for impact, the guy finally looks up and hits his brakes way too late, and makes the decision to swerve into traffic instead of hit me, and thank God they saw it play out and moved over. By the time he came to a stop he was ahead of the truck in front of me. It was wild and I'm lucky

[inkman]

37 minutes ago, MattPie said:

YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM, it reinforces that people will move for them lol!

I think the middle ground is you stop, and they'll either go around you (dominance asserted!) or walk into you and you can be mad at them. Or they can stop too and it'll be a stalemate. To counter that, I suggest you carry a red cape and step to the side while holding it out and shout, "ole!" as they go by.

I like the ole idea.  The above situations are exactly what I try to avoid.  I don’t want to talk to anyone.  I don’t want anyone to look at me.  I don’t want anyone’s day affected by me one iota.  Just act like you are paying attention to life so I don’t have to help guide you through it.  

36 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

The other day I was driving down 20A (a horrible road, full of cross-state travelers who think 55 means 45 and 35 means 48 and who for some reason are told to use that road instead of 86 or 90 by cursed Google maps)

 

Going down hill into warsaw, I was behind one of these charming gentlemen, who had slowed down to 30mph about a quarter mile before the sign warns of the speed change. The driver of the minivan behind me was texting and not looking where they were going, and was barreling towards us at 65+ mph, I was watching the whole way, but had nowhere to go because of a huge curb and guard rail on my right and oncoming traffic on my left. I braced for impact, the guy finally looks up and hits his brakes way too late, and makes the decision to swerve into traffic instead of hit me, and thank God they saw it play out and moved over. By the time he came to a stop he was ahead of the truck in front of me. It was wild and I'm lucky

The driving threads are coming 

[Eleven]

@inkman tomorrow:  "People who stand in a restaurant doorway for ten minutes to say goodbye instead of saying goodbye at the table."

Sunday?  "People who go to the spot at the bar where there's already a drink because someone's in a bathroom, rather than the four spots next to it which are empty."

Frankly, the second category are probably the children of the first, from what I've seen.

Monday, I think he's gonna blow up a fast-food restaurant.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Eleven

[North Buffalo]

3 hours ago, MattPie said:

YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM, it reinforces that people will move for them lol!

I think the middle ground is you stop, and they'll either go around you (dominance asserted!) or walk into you and you can be mad at them. Or they can stop too and it'll be a stalemate. To counter that, I suggest you carry a red cape and step to the side while holding it out and shout, "ole!" as they go by.

I "weave" around them especially those driving slow in the left lanes on their cells and cut the close with my brights on.. yeh that goes for the blonde and the old guy today on my way to work... my passive way of showing my appreciation for their obliviousness....

[Wyldnwoody44]

I'll move, unless I'm in a mood and they're face down on their phone on my side of the sidewalk. Then it's a hard shoulder check without breaking stride 😂😂. Sadly (wonderfully) my ability to detect crap happening in advance was enhanced in 2005 when I cranked a deer on my morotcycle. Now I see crap unfolding wayyy before it happens because that was some scary s+it. So yeah, I'm not trying to fight or interact like Inky says, but maybe next time you'll learn to be more aware of what's happening outside if cyber space. 

[Indabuff]

One time this happened to me with a dude and after moving awkwardly left and right about six times in front of each other he asked me if I wanted to dance. 

[Doohicksie]

13 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

By the time he came to a stop he was ahead of the truck in front of me. It was wild and I'm lucky

That happened to me once, where I braced for impact when a car behind me was barreling up behind me as traffic on the freeway in front of me was stopped.  I was in a Ford Escort with my wife and two young sons; the car behind was an old-school full-sized Ford LTD.  He noticed at the last minute and took his car into the left shoulder and guardrail and bounced into the guardrail several times before popping out into the lane ahead of me into an impossibly small spot (probably about 6 inches from his bumper to the car in front of him and 6 inches from our bumper in the back.  The car literally jumped sideways after hitting the railing the last time.  His rearview mirror was gone.  Traffic started moving again and got up to freeway speeds and he just kept driving.  It was wild.

This was about 30 years ago, no cell phones involved.1

[Night Train]

Society issue

[Zamboni]

 

 

[inkman]

2 hours ago, Night Train said:

Society issue

 

40 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

 

 

I’d love to blame my experiences on people using their phones but this happens to me the most at work, where cell phones aren’t allowed.   Same goes for outside of work.  It’s people with no visible distractions just mindlessly walking directly into my face. 

[Weave]

13 hours ago, Indabuff said:

One time this happened to me with a dude and after moving awkwardly left and right about six times in front of each other he asked me if I wanted to dance. 

That’s usually my line.  Wonder if we’ve crossed paths?

Edited August 12, 2023 by Weave

[Stoner]

14 hours ago, Indabuff said:

One time this happened to me with a dude and after moving awkwardly left and right about six times in front of each other he asked me if I wanted to dance. 

Narrator: The year? 1948.

[LTS]

Most of the time I will just stop and let people walk into me.  Some of the time I will continue and walk into them providing them with a nice shoulder check. Infrequently I will move to accommodate their path.

If they are on their phone it's most assuredly going to be more than a shoulder check.

This is what I loved about the subway in Stockholm.  Crowded as all get out and yet no one seemed to ever walk into each other or even make contact.  It can be done!

[Pimlach]

On 8/11/2023 at 8:18 AM, inkman said:

This is an old adage I heard at work years ago, it still holds true to this day.  It was tossed around for safety concerns.  You can get really injured in a factory if you aren’t careful of your surroundings.  
 

This also applies outside the workplace.  Or at least it should.  Every single day I have to adjust the route I’m walking because someone essentially walks directly at me, with no intention of engaging me or interacting with me.  I’m not certain what their plan is. One of us is going to have to adjust and these morons seem completely oblivious they are walking directly into the path of another person.  
 

I’ve gotten to the point where I usually make it very obvious that I am adjusting my route because of said person’s trajectory.  Either these people have absolutely no self awareness, they can’t even fathom that their actions might impact another person.  Or they are super arrogant just assuming everyone is going to move for them.  

Next you can start a thread about the morons that wear those ear piece and microphone things and talk loudly in public as if no one can hear them, or worse, as if we are interested in how important they are.

I once told a earpiece/microphone guy who was loudly conducting business in the airport waiting area to "Hey Buddy, give us all a break" -  the people seated in the immediate area started clapping and cheering.  He stopped.