Smombies

[icowden]

How do people deal with Smombies on the road?

I've tried various tactics including "Play Pokemon Go on the pavement" - that worked fairly well.
I've found that angry shouting just results in either zero reaction, or return shouting /abuse.

My best tactic - (works well on roads that look pedestrianised too) is to sing. I have a very loud singing voice thanks to training. My favourites thus far are

"Look left - because the road's not clear" (to the tune of Look West)
"Look up, Look up, you;ll always be a slave" (a la Les Miserables)
"Some day I'll find you, creep up behind you..." (a la Private Lives).

Or at Christmas, any loud Christmas song tends to work well...

Sadly just running them over is frowned upon.

 

[ianrauk]

What is a Smombie?
Checked search and it's not a word that's been used on this forum before.
Do you mean Wayward Peds?

 

[Pale Rider]

No, no, don't tell us, this could be a fun guessing game.

Is it some derivative of zombie?

 

[Rooster1]

Smartphone zombie, makes sense I guess. There has been a tenfold increase in the last five years. It's a pandemic in my mind.

What amazes me is the smombies are still ok to drive, despite the severe limitations they have.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

No, no, don't tell us, this could be a fun guessing game.

Is it some derivative of zombie?

Somnambulating pedestrian?

Someone who crosses the road without taking their eyes from the screen of their mobile phone?

 

[icowden]

Smartphone zombie, makes sense I guess. There has been a tenfold increase in the last five years. It's a pandemic in my mind..

That's the one. Those creatures you find slowly moving across the road, their faces aglow, their minds vacant....

 

[Rooster1]

That's the one. Those creatures you find slowly moving across the road, their faces aglow, their minds vacant....

I spotted some in the RG9 area. Are they being rounded up in case they infect others?

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Pull a wheelie, aim your front wheel at their phone, knock said phone from hand, then pedal like mad as upon awaking from their stupor, the smombie will fly into a beserker rage.

 

[mjr]

Believe it or not, most people here look up from their phones when they hear a bicycle bell ring.

 

[iluvmybike]

Assuming they don't have the ubiquitous earphones or buds in of course - then all the bell ringing in creation doesn't help...

 

[roadrash]

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Whether on my bike or in my car it's the same: I slow down and give them a wide berth.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

View attachment 438884

That's outrageous, there's no brake on that thing.

 

[Brandane]

I understand the frustration; but the OP is now 52 minutes old and nobody has yet dared to suggest that pedestrians have every right to wander in front of cyclists whether engrossed in their phone or not - in the same way that car drivers are supposed to exercise endless patience over meandering clueless cyclists. This forum has gone soft recently .

 

[welsh dragon]

Thank god. For a moment, i thought i was going to be the only person who had no idea what the OP was talking about. Phew.