Be More Observant

 

I see it everywhere: I see it in pedestrians who cross intersections oblivious to what vehicles are bearing down on them. I see it in cyclists who really believe they are safe because of their flashing lights or brightly coloured jackets. I see it in drivers who pull out of inter- sections completely unaware of cars coming down the other way and just missing them by inches. I see it in people – men and women – walking along the sidewalk lost in another world – blind to who is sitting in a car they are approaching or just past or who is walking beside or behind them on the sidewalks or who is watching them from a doorway. And I see it in people who take strangers they have just met at face value – just because they have a beautiful smile or appearance or personality.

 

And then – I see it in news accounts of pedestrians killed as they attempted to cross the street -- of cyclists scattered along the roadside like rag dolls -- of drivers whose mangled bodies have to be cut out of their vehicles and of women and men who simply vanished after going for a bike ride or to a dance or for a drink at the local pub. With this last group sometimes their bodies turn up alongside a trail, in a lake or river. Sometimes they vanish forever.

All of these tragedies occur because people go about their activities without being tuned into their environment – until it is too late.

 

The need to continually access our environment and then take appropriate action to protect ourselves never goes away. Unfortunately very few of us remember this and practice that continuous assessment, planning and acting to protect ourselves – no matter what we are engaged in.