Situational Awareness
October 15, 2024
More and more, I see folks walking, skating, biking and driving, starring at their cell phones, with ear buds in both ears. This is just asking for trouble! They have no idea what’s going on around them and they can’t hear if someone is trying to warn them about something or if someone is creeping up on them. This completely negates the process of situational awareness.
Situational awareness is the ability to perceive, understand, and effectively respond to one’s situation. It involves comprehending a given circumstance, gathering relevant information, analyzing it, and making informed decisions to successfully address any potential risks, hazards, or events that might occur. This definitely is not occurring in the instances I described above!
A perfect example: last weekend, while at an airport, a cart with heavy beer kegs was heading towards a person with their face in their phone and earbuds plugged in both ears. Multiple people, including myself, tried to warn this person of the danger but they were completely disconnected from reality. I finally pulled the person out of the cart’s path and they actually got mad because I touched them, until another bystander explained the situation.
What if this was a car at an intersection? A commuter train downtown? What about a mugger on the trail? Most of these dangerous situations can be avoided by staying alert and actively practicing situational awareness.
The world is dangerous enough…we should all be as connected with our surroundings as possible to prevent ourselves injury or, worse, assault and battery!
Be Safe!