The other side of situational awareness

fatcat3

fatcat3

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This morning I went to town, nice country road, through the woods, houses few and far between. Downside is that being unpopulated, pulp trucks, dump trucks, and 50% of the cars drive like it is Indianapolis speedway. About a mile from home there sits a car, pulled over to the side of the road, halfway still in the road can't blame him it's a deep ditch, so the driver could text/ stare at his phone. Thats nice, not driving and texting. HOWEVER, he was parked at the bottom of a hill halfway around a corner. There was no way someone would have seen him until just before the BANG.:eek:
It's nice to know where the exits are, fire extinguishers, what people are doing, etc. Just a gentle reminder let's not forget what we are doing.
 
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Perhaps car was disabled? Maybe he was not there by choice and he was on his phone seeking help. Before retiring I drove 2 million miles. I’ve seen stupid people doing stupid things daily. You must drive defensively. Watching motorist and pedestrians.
 
rockquarry said:
When did the "situational awareness" term take the place of "being observant"?
Click to expand...
Or "paying attention".
If you will indulge my poor attempt at writing and if I can comment without appearing to be a gunfighter wannabe, (not that I am not one, you understand:-) Here goes nuthin'.

The original idea of the gun trainers who popularized the term in the SD community was this, that just paying attention was not all there was to it.
It did not mean continual paranoia, nor did they mean assuming everybody you meet in every environment should be treated as a potential killer until otherwise proved.

It did mean that there are situations that you can recognize and plan for.
It did mean that in those situations there are certain signs that you need to be aware of.

It was meant to accommodate the truth that people just will not keep up anything that is good for them. They can do it for a while but then soon they have their faces down and looking at a phone again.

Most of those trainers recognize that this term has become a buzzword. What some do not yet see is that we are now introducing new buzzwords to take the place of the old buzzwords. These words may work for a while, such as
"transitional spaces"
"avoidance"
"de-escalation skills", etc.

Kind Regards!
BrianD
 
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Brian Parrish said:
Or "paying attention".
If you will indulge my poor attempt at writing and if I can comment without appearing to be a gunfighter wannabe, (not that I am not one, you understand:-) Here goes nuthin'.

The original idea of the gun trainers who coined and first used the term was that just paying attention was not all there was to it.
It did not mean continual paranoia!
It did not mean assuming everybody you meet in every environment should be treated as a potential killer until otherwise proved.

It did mean that there are situations that you can recognize and plan for.
It did mean that in those situations there are certain signs that you need to be aware of.

It was meant to accommodate the truth that people just will not keep up anything that is good for them. They can do it for a while but then soon they have their faces down and looking at a phone again.

Most of those trainers recognize that this term has become a buzzword. What some do not yet see is that we are now introducing new buzzwords to take the place of the old buzzwords. These words may work for a while, such as
"transitional spaces"
"avoidance"
"de-escalation skills", etc.

Kind Regards!
BrianD
Click to expand...

A "buzzword" is generally used to dazzle the less informed, but usually has little, if anything, in the way of real meaning.
 
fatcat3 said:
This morning I went to town, nice country road, through the woods, houses few and far between. Downside is that being unpopulated, pulp trucks, dump trucks, and 50% of the cars drive like it is Indianapolis speedway. About a mile from home there sits a car, pulled over to the side of the road, halfway still in the road can't blame him it's a deep ditch, so the driver could text/ stare at his phone. Thats nice, not driving and texting. HOWEVER, he was parked at the bottom of a hill halfway around a corner. There was no way someone would have seen him until just before the BANG.:eek:
It's nice to know where the exits are, fire extinguishers, what people are doing, etc. Just a gentle reminder let's not forget what we are doing.
Click to expand...
Did you hear recently about the "Good Samaritan" killed in Fla. IIRC?
It was a multi car wreck and she was first on scene to help. Got out of her car to help an injured person and was hit by the next car that came slamming into the scene.

If you are first on the scene, what do you do first?!
Check the injured person closest to where you stopped?
Figure out who is still alive and go help them first?
See who is bleeding and stop the blood first?
Call 911 first?
Nope.
The first job of the first person is to
Secure the area.
Then get somebody else to call 911.
Then start what you can with whom you can.

Thanks for this reminder Brother! Defensive driving!!
So important.

Best!
BrianD
 
rockquarry said:
A "buzzword" is generally used to dazzle the less informed, but usually has little, if anything, in the way of real meaning.
Click to expand...
You are absolutely right.

This road safety situation is infinitely more real and impacting than all the rest of the gunfight paranoia situations that we talk about. If I want to avoid getting killed how is that likely to happen?
On the road.
And it will probably be my own fault.

Best Regards to You!
BrianD
 
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I'm not real sure what the origin of "situational awareness" is/was. However, it features prominently in occupational safety presentations. One can be the poster person for safely performing the task at hand, but are still at risk from those around you. Around you is a global concern, not just the immediate vicinity.

Having a "questioning attitude" is also a safety term that has wide application with regard to personal safety.

ETA: an employer sent all of us to a defensive driver training session. Summary: if you treat all the other drivers as incompetent, impaired or actively out to get you, you'll have far fewer accidents. The concept also has other uses.
 
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“Situational awareness” is different than “being observant”.

Getting in my car and driving to the store for groceries, I will be observant.

Getting out of my car after parking, I will deliberately look to see where I’m parked, aware of my situation…. So I can find my car when I’m done shopping.

Unfortunately, we all know people who don’t watch the news and generally are not overly observant and most likely don’t even think about their situation on any level of awareness.

Because of the escalating crime rate, I have become more aware of what is happening around me when I’m out in public. I’m not paranoid, but I do watch for people around me, like when I’m loading my basket of groceries into my car, and at the gas station if I happen to be filling up at night, which I rarely do.

Statistically, the odds of being attacked is extremely low for the average American citizen, not including the law enforcement, security people, or someone who is often in a high-risk environment.

911 was a wake-up call for me. I realized that I did not know the level of evil that was going on in the world, who the evildoers were, and why they wanted to kill people.

I began to educate myself and became more aware of the geopolitical world I live in, and my personal safety.

In the year of our Lord 2025, evil psychopaths are swatting people. It has been sweeping our country.

Can a person be too cautious, self-aware, situationally aware, or observant?
 
Driving a vehicle requires "situational awareness" 100% of the time. "Defensive driving" is the on-the-road synonym for it.

Pulling off the road to use your phone is the right way to use your phone but not at the expense of putting yourself and others in danger. Pull off 100% safely; it's the only way!

And, then there's this..... if you pull off the road to use your phone, as I actually did last night, you head straight from defensive driving to situational awareness. Don't get lost on your little screen and forget to look up, look around, check your mirrors, etc., while you text or talk or use GPS, etc.
 
The guy in the ditch should have had his warning triangle out far enough back to be fair warning to those rounding that downhill curve. Far too many folks don't use a warning triangle at all, and a lot of folks put it so darn close to their car that it does little good in far too many cases.
 
GnarlsR2 said:
“Situational awareness” is different than “being observant”.

Getting in my car and driving to the store for groceries, I will be observant.

Getting out of my car after parking, I will deliberately look to see where I’m parked, aware of my situation…. So I can find my car when I’m done shopping.

Unfortunately, we all know people who don’t watch the news and generally are not overly observant and most likely don’t even think about their situation on any level of awareness.

Because of the escalating crime rate, I have become more aware of what is happening around me when I’m out in public. I’m not paranoid, but I do watch for people around me, like when I’m loading my basket of groceries into my car, and at the gas station if I happen to be filling up at night, which I rarely do.

Statistically, the odds of being attacked is extremely low for the average American citizen, not including the law enforcement, security people, or someone who is often in a high-risk environment.

911 was a wake-up call for me. I realized that I did not know the level of evil that was going on in the world, who the evildoers were, and why they wanted to kill people.

I began to educate myself and became more aware of the geopolitical world I live in, and my personal safety.

In the year of our Lord 2025, evil psychopaths are swatting people. It has been sweeping our country.

Can a person be too cautious, self-aware, situationally aware, or observant?
Click to expand...
This was an awesome comment Gnarls!

I would love to sit with you over 911 sometime. I have a few ideas I would want your comment sort of as a historian and religion or whatever.

There is an answer to the specific question; "Too much?"
If I say you are too vigilant, I don't, not you Gnarls, but for the sake of discussion say I do,
"What makes too much too much?"
The answer is when it interferes with something more important.

George K, his 11 year old girl and I got off the elevator in the parking garage to walk back to our car. George was laughing and sharing as we stepped out of the elevator. I was laughing at his jokes (hilarious!) when suddenly he shouted,
"STOP!!!!"
That was the loudest shout that ever rang my ears.

She had dashed ahead of us to run to the car and did not see the car coming. I didn't see it either because the car appeared from behind a huge concrete pillar, zoomed by way too fast not looking for a little girl to step out in front of him. She froze instantly like a stone statue. At that instant the car zoomed by and she was fine. Never saw a kid obey so instantly and unquestioningly. Her obedience/respect for her Dad saved her life I am sure of it.

His "situational awareness" saved his girl. Parking garage. Blind corner. Dark because the lights there were burned out. Getting off the elevator, a kid, any kid, his kid, April, is gonna run out, soon as the door opens, like a horse at Churchill Downs! He was totally vigilant but was still able to talk and interact with people and be 100% in the conversation.

Kind Regards!
BrianD
 
Brian Parrish said:
This was an awesome comment Gnarls!

I would love to sit with you over 911 sometime. I have a few ideas I would want your comment sort of as a historian and religion or whatever.

There is an answer to the specific question; "Too much?"
If I say you are too vigilant, I don't, not you Gnarls, but for the sake of discussion say I do,
"What makes too much too much?"
The answer is when it interferes with something more important.

George K, his 11 year old girl and I got off the elevator in the parking garage to walk back to our car. George was laughing and sharing as we stepped out of the elevator. I was laughing at his jokes (hilarious!) when suddenly he shouted,
"STOP!!!!"
That was the loudest shout that ever rang my ears.

She had dashed ahead of us to run to the car and did not see the car coming. I didn't see it either because the car appeared from behind a huge concrete pillar, zoomed by way too fast not looking for a little girl to step out in front of him. She froze instantly like a stone statue. At that instant the car zoomed by and she was fine. Never saw a kid obey so instantly and unquestioningly. Her obedience/respect for her Dad saved her life I am sure of it.

His "situational awareness" saved his girl. Parking garage. Blind corner. Dark because the lights there were burned out. Getting off the elevator, a kid, any kid, his kid, April, is gonna run out, soon as the door opens, like a horse at Churchill Downs! He was totally vigilant but was still able to talk and interact with people and be 100% in the conversation.

Kind Regards!
BrianD
Click to expand...

Hi Brian,

That's nice of you to say that.

Yes.... I have many thoughts about life now that I'm 77.

The more "research" I do the more I realize how much I don't know. I have gained a good amount of knowledge for the past 50+ years. I often want to share it to help someone, but I have found that most people live and die they way they believe and choose. Changing human behavior is one of the most difficult parts of human psychology there is in all of mankind.

I am shocked and angry by the amount of evil, perversion, hate, barbaric slaughter of humans that I see on the news. It is incomprehensible that it can be taking place in the year 2025.

I'm getting so I can't watch the news or read any of the reports in my email and text messages.
 
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I guess I don't understand all the concern over the term "situational awareness". I first heard back in 1978 or 1979 at the first training conference I went to for street tactics for law enforcement officers. The term had a certain ring to it and it stuck in my head ever since. It made perfect sense to me at the time and still does. It has absolutely nothing to do with being paranoid. Since I first heard the term "situational awareness" it has been used by many people in multiple training situations for different purposes. It was used a lot in my police motorcycle operator class and later in my instructor class. Later on law enforcement trainers began using colors for how an officer should operate in, but this soon fell away and situational awareness came back into widespread use. If you don't like the term "situational awareness" don't use it.

In basic form situational awareness means to be observant of your surroundings at all times and don't assume anything. Good cops develop a 6th sense in their workday business and they use that sense to stay out of harms way. Unfortunately technology has taken away much of our ability to be situationally aware via cell phones, texting and for police officers, in car computer terminals. So it's a constant battle to remain aware of your surroundings. How many times after a motor vehicle crash have you heard someone say, "I didn't see the other "________". Fill in the blank. BS! They weren't being observant. And remember, calling a motor vehicle crash an "accident" is a flat out lie. Someone did something, or didn't do something to cause the crash. An accident is when a June bug inadvertently flies up your butt. That is an accident.

Rick H.
 
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