Situational Awareness 101 - Using Your Senses

A man in the Baltimore area is run over by a train.  This is a link I found on Drudge Report.

So what happened?  He was jogging on the tracks with ear buds in listening to Music and he didn't hear the horn from the train and wham he was snuffed.  Aside from Darwin Awards honorable mention I would like to say that this is a clear example of someone intentionally limiting their situational awareness in a high risk environment and therefore it was close to suicide or at least being reckless.  What to get from this is to not limit your senses in any environment where said senses might keep you alive.

Suggestions for your improved Situational Awareness

Hearing:  Don't block your hearing except when you are a safe location or must do so the prevent injuring to your hearing.   

Sight:    Don't wear sunglasses while driving at night and even too dark a tint on your car window can accomplish that.    Use your peripheral vision to view your surroundings and especially to detect movement.

Smell:   Though not commonly considered try to protect your sense of taste and smell.  Don't smoke or you won't easily detect smoke.  Don't use any chemical treatments such as ammonia or chlorine without excellent ventilation or a respirator since regular exposure might impede your sense of smell and taste and this will slow down your sense of danger from putridity in food, smoke from a fire, or chemical smells that indicate risk.

Touch:  Sensing heat, cold, vibration, and balance are skills that most people have innately but often train themselves out of them by considering all environmental oddities something that can be ignored or turned off with a thermostat or switch.  Just the ability to sense your balance may prevent falls.  I know paying attention to buzzing and vibration has saved me from many bee stings.   If you hear buzzing under your feet get moving as you may have pissed off a wasp nest under  deck or overhang.

 You can lose your senses over time:

 If you have any doubts on this just ask older people that have lost many of their senses such as eyesight, hearing, and sense of taste and smell.  I've known many older people that couldn't even tell their food was burned in the oven when the house was full of smoke and even if the smoke detector went off they might not hear it.  Fires kill many people in this type of situation where they don't have their senses to respond immediately.

Your senses are your tools for situational awareness and can greatly improve your chances of survival when threats emerge.  Use them and hone them by investigating perceived variations in your environment and increase your mental catalog of what each represents.

Finally:  Pay attention and that means not walking down train tracks with ear buds on playing music.  The Darwin awards are ever present.