Comments on: Hazards of BlackBerry-walking

People are increasingly walking down the street, typing into their BlackBerry or other PDA, and bumping into other pedestrians. What should we do about it?

[bedney42]

Chris -

The key to this blog entry for me was "where I'm on a business trip". That means you're not a native New Yorker, which explains much in this article.

If you were a native New Yorker, you wouldn't have written it, because what you experienced is no different than what is experienced thousands of times per day in that city -- people showing no regard for each other. Rush rush rushing to some self-important meeting or some such, concepts such as 'common courtesy' are foreign to the majority of inhabitants of that city. They're too busy being New Yorkers and deluding themselves that the rest of the world cares.

Have fun there, experience some of the wonderful cultural experiences there are to be had there (food, museums, etc.) and then leave.

"Nice place to visit but..."

Cheers,

- Bill

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@bedney42,

Oh, I hate to break it to you, Bill. But I lived in NY for a couple of years. Quite recently too. This is far, far worse than anything I've seen.

Chris

[Kev_Orng]

Here's your answer, and like the blackberry itself, it's from Canada:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdzUZDDi5aM

A spoof commercial from at least three years ago that deals with this very problem, from the Rick Mercer Report on CBC TV,

[SteveW928]

Heh! I love it..... though maybe it should be the other way around.... get some big guys to put on hockey suits (think Strange Brew) and walk down the street into the blackberry users. After getting run over a few times like that... they might think twice. :o)

[Nataku4ca]

"Here's your answer, and like the blackberry itself, it's from Canada:"

that was a bit rude

[rotorguy]

I AM a native new yorker, and while what Bill says does have elements of truth to it, prior to texting, most people at least were LOOKING where they were going, even if they didn't care about others around them.

Texting has indeed added a new dimension to the self-absorbed here in the city, where they not only require others to look out for them, but pose a risk to themselves and others. We can only hope that Darwin will take care of this through winnowing of the gene pool as the clueless texters encounter less understanding objects...like city buses.

-avi

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@rotorguy,

Yes, avi, you're right. People did at least look ahead of themselves. Now, they are, dare I suggest, so far up themselves that they see nothing but the tunnel.

Can we really hope that Darwin will sort this problem? Can anyone?

Chris

[sodapop2k9]

What should we do about it? NOTHING. Hopefully they will get hit by cars, too. We learn by experience.

[pabriseno]

I guess they could always create texting lanes on the sidewalks. But most people dont know how to follow rules nowadays, so they probably wouldnt use them anyway.

[SteveW928]

I liked your little experiment.... the solution is we just need a bunch of them weighing like 250-300 lbs walking down the sidewalks into texters.

I'm not surprised though... I find that many people who aren't even texting don't usually look before they walk somewhere into someone else's path. This just adds one more level.

[mdwychoff]

Shields Up, Trekkers! Gene Roddenberry had the solution decades ago!

Next Up: The Blackberry F/P
Featuring forcefield/phaser protection in the malevolence level of your choice:
Ice Blue -Give the offending party a touch of frostbite.
Sun Burn - Give 'em a little face-level heat and mark them with red-face as a warning to others
Body Heat - Scorch their clothes and leave 'em smoldering.
Retina Melt - (Personal-injury attorney model only) Blind 'em & etch your phone number on their arm.
Olive Drab Oblivion - (MILSPEC version only) - Melt them into a puddle of olive-drab molecules
Carbon Dust - When the blackness in your heart is the only color that will do.

[Maarek Stele]

that's all we need, another lawsuit. I watched an old episode of Sliders where they were in a place that everything could be used against you in court. If you ordered fast food, you need to present a medical history stating that you were eligable to eat at the establishment. Warning signs should be enough now adays and ambulance chasers should all jump off a cliff.

The PDAing should be handled like a fender bender, the one bumping the other car is at fault, so the one texting is at fault for not looking where they are going. That's it, end of story, and if they are pissed than oh well.

[Kev_Orng]

This article is crazy... it's like you used the auto-publish feature, and accidentally set it to publish in 2009 instead of 2006, then forgot all about it for three years.

Because we beat this topic to death back in the first half of the decade, and we didn't mention iPhones then either. And what is this "PDA" you're talking about?

[aka_tripleB]

Here's the key to dealing with that type of person -- blow horn. They're going to get mad at you for no reason anyway, so you might as well get a hearty laugh out of it after they **** their pants.

[Kev_Orng]

If i can use one of those crazy old-style clown horns, then I'm totally on board with this plan.

[deh1963]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdzUZDDi5aM

[kboateng]

lmao...that is so true but that's kind of dramatizing it though

[Nataku4ca]

this reminds me of tomogachi from... ehhhh what 10 years ago?

[itchief]

I noticed the same behavior in Philly but many of them were dangerously close to interacting with moving vehicles. There was an article a few months ago showing how London was "solving" the problem by adding protective wrapping to light poles and street signs and painting lines on the sidewalks. For person-to-person encounters I suggest a strategically placed elbow...