This morning as I was driving into work, I turned into the parking lot and had to stop because a worker wearing ear protection and carrying a weed whacker stepped into the travelway without looking up and stopped in the middle of the lane to make an adjustment to his equipment, again without looking up. After several seconds he didn’t move and never looked up. I have to assume that the reason he stepped in front of the car in the first place was because he didn’t hear the engine for the ear protection.
This begs the question: when does use of a safety device become endangerment?
The proper use of any safety appliance such as a hard hat, safety glasses, steel toed boots, fluorescent green vest and similar personal protective gear is essential for a safe workplace. But simply putting on the equipment doesn’t guarantee a safe workplace. It requires the most important piece of equipment; that located between our ears. As we go about our jobs, and daily life for that matter, we need to be constantly aware of the world around us, even while focusing on the job at hand. Simply paying attention would prevent a whole host of accidents.
Charlottesville Architect 
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