I get my share of being flipped the bird when drivers who are inconsiderate and / or not paying attention force me to stand on my brakes or swerve to avoid hitting them for pulling out from a side street, or switching lanes.

Tonight just might top those moves. Take one major, busy intersection, add tons of vehicles, and 2 pedestrians - one on a cell phone. Fortunately for myself, and both of them, I was paying attention to see them not stop, nor look, and just walk into the street to cross. The pedestrians did not have the right of way. I did honk, and the bird flew. I simply wanted them to realize, had I not been careful, I most likely would have hit them both.

I got the bird and a glare as if I was wrong. She kept talking on the phone. She walks to talk another day.

dl

She was probably completely oblivious........next she might not be.

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Melissa

Please do not get me started with the cell phone issues. I literally cannot understand how someone thinks they can talk and drive at the same time and yet also still text, that is how lazy we have become. What will it take for some people to learn. While I am glad I have the cell phone so that I may reach my children, my husband and my parents and his dad, that is it. Sorry but driving and talking even with the blue-tube is still being irresponsible. People say hands free, I have seem many people drive hands free, but they are clearly having a heated argument hands free and still trying to drive and have their control wits about them 100 percent you cannot do it. While talking on the cell phone in a open public place like a small store will not cause death, it is so distracting and down right rude, I do not care to hear about all your personal business. I think the cell phone can be a wonderful thing, but it has gotten so out of hand and that is all the teenagers do, text, talk, text, talk, it is terrible...Catherine

We've actually had two cases of pedestrians being struck by vehicles--and the pedestrians were given tickets! Either they crossed against the light/signal, or crossed outside a crosswalk/intersection. Now, I don't think it's always the pedestrian's fault, but sometimes it is.

What tinkles me off is when *I* am crossing in a crosswalk and almost get clipped by a car because they are in such a hurry they can't wait another 10 seconds to let me get to the curb...

People are just so self-absorbed some times. Sometimes we humans need to consider how are actions and behaviours may effect others (good and bad!)

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I have noticed that quite a bit lately myself. I notice so many people come to a crosswalk and just walk on through without even looking to see if a car is coming. Same with the bicyclists.

My area is not too pedestrian prone, but cyclists drive me crazy. Windy two-lane roads with no shoulders and woods up to the pavement, and cyclists with no manners and who refuse to use the many many bike trails in the area. I have voted for every single tax proposal for building more bike trails and I really wish they would use them. I'm not voting for any more. The only solution is to let them have the road and see how long before they get enough people up in arms to make it mandatory to have a license for bikes and bikers if you are over the age of 16. A mandatory road safety class should be required as well for all ages. It's time bikers pay their way and learn to use the roads wisely and safely.

I would venture a guess that the pedestrian was very well aware of what they were doing. All too often pedestrians walk into traffic not bothering to look because they think, that as a pedestrian, they have the right of way. It's as if they're just daring the car driver to hit them.

So walking and talking on a cell phone is probably as hazardous as driving with a cell phone.
Goes to show you that having a conversation on a cell phone requires a certain amount of concentration.....which takes away from the walking or driving that you're doing while talking.

It's a huge distraction.......Don't Do It!

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I think the thing that really bugs me is the attitude of people - as in it's their right to do whatever they want and they are never in the wrong. About 6 months ago, I did almost change lanes (inappropriately on my part) and it scared the you know what out of me. When the guy stopped next to me at a light, I rolled down the passenger window and told him I was sorry, I was wrong. He looked a little bewildered, and then said something like "thanks, don't worry about it". He even smiled at me.

The cell phone thing is out of control. I'd like to see employers require them be checked at the door until break, lunch, or quitting time. I remember the days where you didn't expect to be on the phone all the time and when you got a personal call, it was to be minimal time spent. Productivity was excellent and the customer was taken care of. Now the customer is an inconvenience.

People knew where their kids were, and kids knew where their parents were. The "emergency use" line is contrived. Emergency is not defined by failure to plan or failure to be responsible !

dl

Yeah, I saw on the news recently where a teenage boy was texing while he was walking and fall onto some train tracks

What is missing is common sense. Whether talking about walking and talking/texting or using your phone at work (or driving or swinging an umbrella or opening a door in a public person) a person has to use their brain and their common courtesy.

As far as checking your cell phone with your employer that is ridiculous. As far as emergencies being contrived I was working at Springfield High School in 1998 when Kip Kinkel came in and shot the place up. The phone lines were tied up for hours and I did not have a cell phone then. My husband and son were worried about me for hours wondering if I was one of the two dead. None of us had a cell phone. If we had I would have been able to let them know I was okay or if I was not okay I would have been able to say my last goodbye.
On 9/11 (granted this is not something that happens every day although these situations are becoming more common) or in one of the many situations where people are being held hostage often the cell phone is the reason help comes as well as being an emotional lifeline to family and loved ones.
You may say this most likely won't happen to people. I showered that morning, packed a lunch, did my hair and makeup like every other work day. As I drove to work that morning I had no idea the tragedy that would occur and how it would affect me the rest of my life. I will never forget the frustration of trying to contact my husband and son and the fear I felt.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

LOL....tinkles me off. I love that one. Will use that again.

Now, I have to tell you, it is ridiculous with people and almost running others over in a cross walk. This happens daily at DD's school. The crosswalk to the parking lot begins between parking spots. So, you can't really see what is there if you are driving on the road, so it is smart to go very very very slow. Especially during drop off or pick up time. But, do people do that??? Um, not all of them. It makes me so mad when they just come blowing right on thru, even tho the speed limit is 20 in this area of the road.

Now, back to the middle finger issue. DS had this happen to him at school. In the parking lot, a girl cut him off and then gave him the finger until they got out of the parking lot and down the road. And this from a "young lady".

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

adr - I disagree and don't think it is ridiculous for an employer to require cells (or other gadgets) to be checked, locked, left in a car, etc. Employees are there to work, not do personal things and it's not a "right" to have it. An employee's rights are a safe workplace, breaks, and compensation/benefits as agreed. People are there to work and expect to be compensated while the employer expects them to work, not to lose time and productivity just because the employee "can".

As for an actual emergency, you are right. However, I don't know of anyone who has had an emergency. I find the word emergency as a crutch for when people can't find their kids (irresponsibility) , don't have anything else to do than call them (can't put the phone down), can't find their way somewhere (failure to plan), etc. I have a friend who got her son a cell when he was 13 for "emergency situations" and to know when he was home from school. Ummm, they have a phone at the house for use when he was home from school and when we talked about that, she realized her reasoning was flawed. I honestly think she got him the phone and tried to justify it as an afterthought. I think a lot of people do this.

dl

We will agree to disagree on this issue. Until people know the fear of being in an actual emergency and how it affects every situation you find yourself in from then on one might not realize the security a phone provides.

And again I emphasize this is NOT a cell phone matter it's a COMMON SENSE matter. How many drivers/walkers have had accidents throughout the years before there was such a thing as cell phones? My Mom wished she could have us driving a car with no radio as she was convinced radios caused accidents. A few years back a young lady was driving and bent over to retrieve a cassette or CD and killed someone. This is not a matter of radios or cassettes or CDs it's a matter of paying attention to what you're doing.
I've found myself deep in thought while walking (not talking or texting just being distracted) and almost hit something. Does that mean I should refrain from thinking while walking?
It's not effective to ban a whole group of people from something simply because some people use it irresponsibly.
It's just my opinion.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I do agree that common sense and common courtesy are minimal and that this is more widespread than just the fixation people have with their cells. I was just tired of getting flipped when it wasn't my fault and the last incident contained a cell.

I've also been at a Catholic Funeral Mass that started late because some irresponsible family members didn't get their directions ahead and then the wonderful GPS failed to get them there. The Mass finally started and while processing in (a very quiet start to the Mass) one family member was on their cell yet again, trying to give directions and it was rude, disruptive, and inappropriate - but obviously she felt it was ok. She felt it was an emergency, but it truly was not. It was irresponsibility on both parts. This is but one illustration of what some define as an emergency when this situation was not.

Most people will not be in an actual emergency situation, as I said before. That would be very, very rare. I understand your valid point about your examples.

In the workplace, it would be effective to ban personal devices. I know my idea is not popular, but again, no one is entitled to have a device of any type while working. The employer can have dress, facial hair, attendance, tardiness, etc policies, for the whole group of people and banning devices would fit right in. If it's so important, quit the job so you can talk and play all day.

I am speaking generally (not to you personally) as we discuss this back and forth.

dl

I just completely disagree on banning phones and other devices unless they are specifically impacting someone's work performance.
As far as dress code, etc you're right that's an employer's right to expect certain things. That being said I've had interviews with companies that have inflexible policies, Enterprise for one. If an employer is so inflexible they feel they have to control a person's clothing to the point of banning "outside" wear like sweaters and jackets and force women to wear stockings with dresses when they are not interacting with clients in any way other than on the phone is to me ridiculous and inflexible and indicates the employer has a problem with control and being inflexible. I could not be happy with an employer like this.
Sorry to get off the subject.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

interesting anecdote: I am often in phone mediations(for work). There have been as many as 6 different parties on 6 phones. Because there will be some times that I need to talk immediately w/ my legal counsel--we have our phones to text one another. We have also put the mediation on hold so we can call on our cell phones.
These are our personal cell phones.

I don't think banning cell phones would be a good thing. I send and receive texts on "silent" throughout the day. Does not effect my productivity....

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

ty for a nice discussion. I say gadgets meaning cells, mp3s, internet, email, gameboys, etc.........I have been at Enterprise once and do remember that, now that you say it. Airlines, the military, and hospitals are others that quickly come to mind. It is cohesiveness and shows well for the company. You certainly know who you are dealing with. I don't think an employer is "ridiculous and inflexible" to want to present the company and the company's representatives in the best possible light.

Gadgets do impede work performance and productivity when used while "on the clock". Any time spent on them is actually taken from the employer unless one is on break. I will now bring up the internet and how I stood in line at a medical facility to check in, only to see that the person was switching screens and was on ebay. Yes, it happened.

Some work situations may require use of gadgets and I understand that. What I do not understand and do not agree with is the liberty taken by employees to decide that they can be on their gadget whenever they want while being paid - at the company's and the customer's expense.

dl

Amazing how us troublemakers can carry on a civil discussion! LOL

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

If a person does their job I don't think it should matter just as it shouldn't matter if a person reads a book or writes letters in between phone calls or between customers coming in. I guess it depends on the job a person is doing.
My point of view is that a person either does the job right or doesn't (although there are many degrees of competency in between) who cares if they're texting.
If I hire you to do a job and you're numbers are near the top then I don't care if you're talking on the phone, surfing FB, or whatever.
If it interferes with your or your colleagues' ability to work and/or get along that's a different story.
I will not give up my phone unless it's absolutely necessary (I go into correctional institutions for my job and must relinquish my phone into a locker when I go in however if there is an emergency I feel relatively safe with all the law enforcement nearby). Otherwise I don't turn it off. When flying I turn it to airplane setting, when I go into a theater or church or wherever I simply turn all sounds off and put it in my purse or pocket. I don't want to waste precious seconds and risk a noise turning it on in case something does happen.
Now I already know I am more paranoid than most people and with good reason.
On top of that I've always been able to do what was expected of me, exceed that, and still have extra time to just sit there and just twiddle my thumbs so maybe that's why I feel this way.

Oh I very rarely flip anyone the bird. When I'm driving I laugh at the idiots around me who are in such a hurry to speed to the next light or who risk their lives passing on the two lane highway only to end up one car ahead and sometimes even end up behind me by the time we get to town.
When someone flips me off I am likely to smile and blow them a kiss and give a friendly wave.
When I get mad in the car I usually yell 'idiot" out loud in the car but other than a warning honk if someone is about to smash into me I just give myself the sign of the cross in thanks of another disaster averted.
People get so mad they are affecting their own health and risking making a bad judgment call. People just need to slow down a bit on the road and find a productive outlet for all the little things that seem to boil blood these days.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.