Unfortunately, just about everywhere. A majority of, not all, people are fairly clueless, esoecially when their face is planted in their phone, imo. Society has become way too lax…again, my personal opinion. 
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Restaurants are also another place people drop their guard. Between the conversation at your own table and surrounding tables people tend to lose situational awareness.
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@Scott4 I agree with you 100 percent. Cell phones have become a big distraction in society to the point where situational awareness is not present. Easy to become a victim because the use of a cell phone.
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women leaving handbag on the front seat of the vehicle with all the doors open with their backs turn airway especially since most women carry in there hand bag
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Because the station is hoping you pay more attention to the TV than the dollar signs ringing up and pump more than what you wanted
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Welcome to the family and glad to have you onboard
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Thank you sir, but I haven’t joined just yet. Need to take care of a few things then I’ll be part of the family…
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I would further recommend (sorry if this has already been said) that due to the recent increase in lone wolf attacks and random stabbings, you stand with your back to the wall at train stations and subways, as much as possible. If you’re waiting in line, and you can lean against a wall, do it. Keep your back clear. It will help you spot threats faster.
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Definitely agree that cell phones are a major distraction to many people I see when I’m out and about. Far too many people simply pay no attention to their surroundings, and then they are caught completely unaware when something goes awry.
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My strategy also. Nod, smile, a small wave… “I see YOU”
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Never forget the phone can be a good cover. It makes one look distracted while they are actually highly focused. "where is his other hand, what are the eyes doing.
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When I am at the station I am scanning the moment I exit the truck. I’ve had my card compromised 3 times. Lucky that we didn’t have to pay any thing, so I look for bad scanners. Never been hit at a gas station, has been at eateries. Put the nozzle in and watch.
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People who are not aware their surroundings when crossing street in the crosswalk, they’re so focused on their phone, or walking in parking lots.
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Same goes when using a urinal. Don’t. Go inside of a stall as one never knows who is standing behind you nowadays.
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To me this is a funny in e messed up pathetic way. We had a contractor who stole our identity after being given a check for some contracting work.
Funny but sad part. I am in Birmingham, Al. at a specific time making a purchase, he is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. at the very same specific time and he wrote a check on a piece of notebook paper to a Home Depot for over $800 and they took it and my bank accepted both transactions even though we were hundreds of miles apart. At the exact same time
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I don’t feel comfortable sharing a lot of personal details. I will say:
I learned to always keep paying attention. Nowhere is safe. Don’t walk like a victim. You don’t have to look right at people to let them know that you see them. A straight on stare looks like a challenge, and risks taking your attention down to a focus. One criminal means two, two criminals mean three. A look out the side and a nod shows you’ve seen them, and you keep paying attention to your surroundings.
Practice paying attention to your peripheral vision. With practice, you can have your focal point fixed on something, while using your mental focus to keep track of things outside of the focal point. This way, you don’t look like a frightened lunatic, whipping your eyes around wildly. Also, you are completely blind during those eye motions, losing up to a tenth of a second. Magicians regularly use this. I had a little self-training in the art of illusions in my early 20s, it was amazing how much I could do right in front of people without them seeing it. In general, the harder they tried to pay attention and catch me out, the less they saw.
In general, our eyes follow in two ways: saccades, where our focal point is moved quickly from place to place, and tracking, where our focal point is fixed on a (usually moving) object. The big difference is the partial blindness caused by saccades, whereas tracking an object does not have the same effect.
I’ve practiced using a tracking motion rather than saccades, to move my visual focus from area to area. It isn’t easy when you aren’t following a moving object… another technique is to make saccades happen more slowly. Use that time to turn your attention to the broader visual information outside of the fovea. Lots of rapid, large eye motions means less time actually seeing things.
Don’t count on being able to rely on a primary weapon. Practice! Practice with the sorts of things you might find around you. An extension cord, rock, garden hose, chair, whatever. I got good enough with a 6ft extension cord that I could pretty reliably hit an eye sized (nonmoving) target with the heavy end.
Practice a calm state of mind. Although anger is fine, too, it should be completely calm anger. My sister didn’t know what she was doing for me at the time… I used to be so easy to startle, we could be standing there talking, I’d jump if you suddenly shouted “Boo!!” My sister thought this was hilarious, so she’d sometimes wait in the darkened, half-finished basement to jump out and scare me.
I got this reaction under control using my anger to control my startle reflex. Now, it is very difficult to get a startle reflex from me. It doesn’t make me angry, it just doesn’t affect me. This has been a fantastic boon to me…
Mental preparation is 90%. Or as I think I heard in a USCCA video, your body can’t go where your mind hasn’t been.
The sharp knife is the safest, and the most useful.
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Listen to your gut feelings
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I just cannot tolerate the TV screens pushing advertising, and sports. You can here it from all of the pumps. As for using the smartphone at the pump, I have a flip phone and thus no distraction for me. It helps if one takes the time to go inside and pre-pay. Convenience breeds carelessness.
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More and more as time goes by, my head is on a complete swivel. Accessing every situation around me. No… not paranoid at all. Just refuse to lose situational awareness of some fool wants to make the news.
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Welcome to the family and god bless you.
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