Situational Awareness--Not Always Easy

[dlh]

So, today I was walking through the doors at the entrance to the Walmart and into the store when I turned my head to the right and behind me to talk to another old geezer. About that time I heard somebody say, "He is going real fast!"
I turned my head back to the left and did not see anything.
Somebody said he just ran out of the store and stole a bicycle!
I never saw him or the bicycle as he ran right past me a few feet to my left headed out of the store!
And no, had I known he was coming I would not have intervened.
So, things can happen when you least expect it so do your best to know what is happening around you!

[papabear]

specvially at walmart

[chasfm11]

My dog was attacked by a pit bull coming at full speed. My after incident analysis suggests that I had about 2 seconds to pick up the dog from the time that he would have been first visible until he grabbed my dog. I never saw him coming. Part of it was because he came from a house where I didn't even know that a pit bull was visiting. It is hard to pick up on things that we don't expect. Second, while I always scan around me while I'm walking with my dog because we are on a public street and i want to know in advance when cars are coming, it is impossible to see a 360 view around me every second. Even with my head on a swivel, it takes a second or two to complete a full sweep. Lastly, in a crowded environment like a Wal-Mart, the audible cues that you might get in a more remote setting are lost in the background noise of the crowd and the poor acoustics of the building. While the echo rate in a Wal-Mart is never going to rival a concert hall, it is enough to have each generated sound bounce a few times, increasing the overall noise level. For me, sound is a big part of perception. Even with significant hearing loss, I depend on what I hear as much as what I see for insight into what is happening. Wal-Marts are the worst of the worst for figuring that out.

[Excaliber]

My dog was attacked by a pit bull coming at full speed. My after incident analysis suggests that I had about 2 seconds to pick up the dog from the time that he would have been first visible until he grabbed my dog. I never saw him coming. Part of it was because he came from a house where I didn't even know that a pit bull was visiting. It is hard to pick up on things that we don't expect. Second, while I always scan around me while I'm walking with my dog because we are on a public street and i want to know in advance when cars are coming, it is impossible to see a 360 view around me every second. Even with my head on a swivel, it takes a second or two to complete a full sweep. Lastly, in a crowded environment like a Wal-Mart, the audible cues that you might get in a more remote setting are lost in the background noise of the crowd and the poor acoustics of the building. While the echo rate in a Wal-Mart is never going to rival a concert hall, it is enough to have each generated sound bounce a few times, increasing the overall noise level. For me, sound is a big part of perception. Even with significant hearing loss, I depend on what I hear as much as what I see for insight into what is happening. Wal-Marts are the worst of the worst for figuring that out.

Getting used to listening to your spidey sense is an important part of situational awareness. Your subconscious often picks up on danger before your conscious mind does, and learning to do an immediate visual sweep of your surroundings when you get that little tingle can help keep you from getting surprised at close range.

[chasfm11]

My dog was attacked by a pit bull coming at full speed. My after incident analysis suggests that I had about 2 seconds to pick up the dog from the time that he would have been first visible until he grabbed my dog. I never saw him coming. Part of it was because he came from a house where I didn't even know that a pit bull was visiting. It is hard to pick up on things that we don't expect. Second, while I always scan around me while I'm walking with my dog because we are on a public street and i want to know in advance when cars are coming, it is impossible to see a 360 view around me every second. Even with my head on a swivel, it takes a second or two to complete a full sweep. Lastly, in a crowded environment like a Wal-Mart, the audible cues that you might get in a more remote setting are lost in the background noise of the crowd and the poor acoustics of the building. While the echo rate in a Wal-Mart is never going to rival a concert hall, it is enough to have each generated sound bounce a few times, increasing the overall noise level. For me, sound is a big part of perception. Even with significant hearing loss, I depend on what I hear as much as what I see for insight into what is happening. Wal-Marts are the worst of the worst for figuring that out.

Getting used to listening to your spidey sense is an important part of situational awareness. Your subconscious often picks up on danger before your conscious mind does, and learning to do an immediate visual sweep of your surroundings when you get that little tingle can help keep you from getting surprised at close range.

My spidey sense has helped me more times than I can count. But it doesn't always work, as in the case of the pit bull. I've read "The Gift of Fear" and tried to take the lessons from it. I submit that in the OP, the spidey sense is probably not going to work but perhaps I underestimate it in other people.

[03Lightningrocks]

I think we all tend to get comfortable and more complacent when in a situation we repeat on a regular basis. For instance when walking ones dog. After repeated safe occasions, being attacked by a rogue animal is the last thing one might expect. Same for a Wal-Mart one visits on repeated occasions. That favorite restaurant you eat at a couple times a week. The local walgreens you buy smokes from every other day. I feel it is human nature to get comfortable after repeated safe visits.

[Excaliber]

My dog was attacked by a pit bull coming at full speed. My after incident analysis suggests that I had about 2 seconds to pick up the dog from the time that he would have been first visible until he grabbed my dog. I never saw him coming. Part of it was because he came from a house where I didn't even know that a pit bull was visiting. It is hard to pick up on things that we don't expect. Second, while I always scan around me while I'm walking with my dog because we are on a public street and i want to know in advance when cars are coming, it is impossible to see a 360 view around me every second. Even with my head on a swivel, it takes a second or two to complete a full sweep. Lastly, in a crowded environment like a Wal-Mart, the audible cues that you might get in a more remote setting are lost in the background noise of the crowd and the poor acoustics of the building. While the echo rate in a Wal-Mart is never going to rival a concert hall, it is enough to have each generated sound bounce a few times, increasing the overall noise level. For me, sound is a big part of perception. Even with significant hearing loss, I depend on what I hear as much as what I see for insight into what is happening. Wal-Marts are the worst of the worst for figuring that out.

Getting used to listening to your spidey sense is an important part of situational awareness. Your subconscious often picks up on danger before your conscious mind does, and learning to do an immediate visual sweep of your surroundings when you get that little tingle can help keep you from getting surprised at close range.

My spidey sense has helped me more times than I can count. But it doesn't always work, as in the case of the pit bull. I've read "The Gift of Fear" and tried to take the lessons from it. I submit that in the OP, the spidey sense is probably not going to work but perhaps I underestimate it in other people.

Spidey sense is great when it works, but you're right that it's not 100% (or even 80%).

[Venus Pax]

It's easy to get lax with situational awareness, but it's key. I'm reminded every time a student or friend from church approaches me in public without my first spotting them that I probably wasn't practicing situational awareness very well.