I've been a klutz ever since I started wobbling around on my own two feet as a toddler. My dad always had to warn me, “Caterine, watch where you’re going!” I was the typical toddler distracted by anything that moved, made sound or sparkled.
With the high rise in daily cellphone usage, I feel that more and more people that walk around on campus, in the city, or as pedestrians around the roads are looking more like Caterine the Toddler than ever before.
Last week, I was walking by University Ave, on the slim sidewalk—emphasis on slim—in front of Gator City, Tijuana Flats, Balls, etc,. There’s enough space for about a maximum of three people closely walking side by side.
I was walking toward Dunkin' Donuts and a person was coming towards me, walking briskly with both hands around their cellphone and their eyes plastered to the screen. I was expecting them to look up because they had strayed into my unofficial “sidewalk lane” and were now walking straight towards me.
We bumped into each other. It wasn't too bad because I side-stepped just enough for it not to be a full head-on collision, but all she did was glance up, mumble inaudibly and wobble ahead.
Before I snapped in Z formation with a flip of my hair whilst laying down some truth on why they should take their eyes off her cellphone for a good minute in order to not run into people, I kept walking and instead had a donut and some iced coffee.
Florida pedestrian laws don’t mention anything on walking while distracted, even with new texting and driving law implemented Oct. 1, so for now we’re going to have to deal with people walking into each other. I can deal with that. I do it like many other people without the need of a cellphone due to natural clumsiness.
However, there’s a looming problem that’s even worse than people walking while texting: people walking while intoxicated.
I’m all about people walking to the club, getting drunk and then walking home instead of driving home and endangering their lives and the lives of others on the road. But recently I’ve also encountered trouble with people walking around drunk. In the past week, I’ve had two people walk onto the road in front of me drunk. It’s harsh to say it but they’re both lucky I wasn’t distracted.
One of these people was alone and swayed onto the street, so I flickered my headlights from afar in warning and they strolled back onto the sidewalk, but as I looked back through my rear-view mirror they were on the road again.
The other person I encountered was with a group of others standing close to the street. I saw the person sauntering slowly towards the street as if about to cross before someone from the group realized what was happening and pulled the person back by the arm.
I’m not an advocate for total sobriety or an advocate for absolutely no texting while walking, but I am an advocate for personal safety. If you know you’re doing something that can potentially harm you or others, where the simple fix is putting your cellphone in your pocket for 5 minutes or finding a designated walker, then find some sort of solution! Maybe your designated walker can make you wear one of those “book bags” children wear at theme parks with leashes attached to them.
If you’re drinking and texting while walking and you’re by yourself at night then you just need to reevaluate your decisions.
