Epic Texting Fail

[Sylvane]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

if you cant talk on a headset and walk/drive... you dont need to be walking/driving ;p period

I've met people that can hardly walk or drive without distractions, add in a phone and you're asking for an inferno

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

if you cant talk on a headset and walk/drive... you dont need to be walking/driving ;p period

The point is you're distracted. While you are only listening, you are concentrating on what someone is saying and thinking of your answer so your reaction time is affected. No matter what age you are, it affects your driving negatively. It's the same as eating a burger while driving, yelling at your kids while driving, etc.

[Lmnop]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

I've known a lot of idiots who HAVEN'T fallen into an open manhole. She's a little worse than an idiot.

So you're typing a text message. Lol bff c u 2mrw. Did that phone come with a license to parade through the city completely unaware of immediate dangers? It's New York City. What a great way to get mugged.

We've all seen in the movies the 2 mothers laughing and talking to each other whilst pushing their baby strollers. All the while with their heads turned towards each other.

Now put a hole in front of one of those carriages.

I think this girl was pretty oblivious, but I think there are tons of things that could pull attention away as easily as texting. We just home in on texting because it's such an ever-present distraction.

---

And talking on the phone while driving is as bad as chatting with someone riding shotgun. The advantage is, someone riding shotgun gets to counterbalance it by saying "Look out!"

[DakAttack]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Now put a hole in front of one of those carriages.

Are you advocating pushing babies into sewers? I'm in.

[Cane]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

lol I have walked into a pole while talking, texting, and/or eating. So I am not surprised that happened, but I do think it is a bit dumb they are suing the city for this. Ahh they are just being American =P you sue over everything that is not in a textbook.

The funny thing is that my dad texts when he drives, and this is highway speeds. Ironically he has never been in a car accident before. However my mom does yell at him whenever she witness such behavior.

[Sekighara]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

One of my friends beat castlevania boss rush mode on ds while driving at high way speeds I woke up during the middle of his attempt. He only succeeded at it because I had to make the decision to choke him or steer. Yeah you can't fix stupid you can only derail it. But the fact it wasn't marked is bad but on average the normal human vision along with posture allows to look infront of you in an angle to see the ground. Now because of that you can assume she was holding her cell phone for comfort in this angle obstucting her view. Because if no one else was walking there because lets say there was a hole if the cell phone was not there she wouldn't have feel in. City might loose but no matter how I look at it that is means to an end an outcome to a stupid decision and she most likely is going to get a car and text in that and get in a car accident and depending on how creul the powers that be are she may even crash into the sign that tells you not to do what she was doing.

[Empedocles]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Do manholes use Optical Camouflage when they don't have their covers on in America? Because usually when there's a manhole without a cover on over here, there is a big dark circular patch to indicate that there is well, kinda, a hole there.

I read the article that Feba posted, and of course she is going to say that if there was a cone she would have seen it, she's speaking after the fact and to the media!

I'm not excusing the workers for their obvious negligence, but if she was as familiar with that particular walkway as the says she is, then she should have known that there was a manhole sometime during it, and perhaps Shock! Horror! They might have to open it sometimes.

It was an idiotic thing to do, no mistake.

Edit: If I was the judge, I'd throw the case out. Regardless if the workers are at fault for the signage, holes generally don't move under people's feet of their own accord. The workers didn't throw the cover at her or anything like that.

[Feba]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Right, because there's a big difference between the big dark circle of a manhole cover and the big dark circle of a manhole when you're using peripheral vision. That's exactly why they shouldn't have opened it without clearly marking their work area.

And if the workers are at fault, you'd have to be a completely incompetent judge to dismiss the case.

[Firewind]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

All I want to know is what kind of idiot opens up a big hole in the road without marking it in the first place considering that blind people and small children can easily fall in and all. It is also extremely easy to foresee that someone could easily fall in especially if it dark or the weather gives poor viability to the poor bugger who falls in.

Sure we can laugh at the girl for being too glued to her phone to notice but it's not as if she's suing for some frivolous or moronic reason. The workers did breach a duty of care to the public by you know, leaving a hole in the middle of the road. You have to remember that people are idiots and always pay attention to the huge shiny thing so they tend to notice a big orange cone or one of those maintenance barriers surrounding something. As soon as you take away those big orange warning the certainty of someone falling into the manhole increases to 100%.

[Kailea]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

the only thing I see, is one, they forgot (yeah not an excuse but still) or two, they had JUST opened and was about to setup the warnings (the excuse I bet will be used)

[Caspian]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Aren't they supposed to mark it before they ever pull the cover up? Pulling the cover up, then walking to the truck to get the cones isn't really a smart idea.

[Kailea]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Aren't they supposed to mark it before they ever pull the cover up? Pulling the cover up, then walking to the truck to get the cones isn't really a smart idea.

no its not, but it does happen, not saying that would help their case, but I am sure thats what they will say "oh well we took the cover off, and was about to place the warning up when it happened"

[Durahansolo]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

I remember they used to steal sewer covers around here. I can't imagine how hard it'd be to carry one of those things even just a few feet to a truck.

[Feba]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

Really, not only would that not help (you always put up your safety equipment BEFORE you start working), it could hurt. It then turns into either "Why did you leave your work zone completely unattended while you went to grab the cones, if you realized there was a safety hazard?" or "Why did you stand by and watch while the poor girl walked towards the hole, why didn't you say something?"

It would probably wind up hurting their case. The best hope for the city is probably to settle out of court, and quickly.

[Firewind]

Re: Epic Texting Fail

What Feba said. Stuff like this happens a lot and it usually just ends with a settlement since neither side will probably want to waste the Court's time