Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Distracted cart pushing can be dangerous
The following is a letter to the editor I sent to our paper after reading one about the need to have children in shopping carts buckle-up. Shopping cart safety has more in common with cars than safety belts.
This letter is scheduled to appear in Wednesday's Star Democrat.
Letter to the Editor:
I read with interest Kelly Martin’s cautionary tale about shopping carts. Seatbelt use is a must while riding in a cart just as it is in an automobile. I must add that one should consider avoiding the use of cell phones while piloting carts around a grocery store. I was the victim of a young mother (she had two walking-aged children in tow) who was a distracted cart-pusher. With one ear to a cell phone she was navigating the isles with a cart and herding her children at the same time.
I’m a frequent salad bar patron at this particular grocery store. I left my cart unattended near the salad bar and I made my various selections. The mother, children and cart suddenly appeared in my area. The mother, still chatting on the phone, left her cart and turned to a selection of vegetables. One of her children took the opportunity to push their cart off down an isle. The mother turned back and walked over to my cart and started down another isle. I had to flag her down and retrieve the cart from her. With barely a shrug (or interruption in her conversation) she released the cart and moved to catch up with her children as they pushed her cart.
Distracted cart pushing can cause problems.
This letter is scheduled to appear in Wednesday's Star Democrat.
Letter to the Editor:
I read with interest Kelly Martin’s cautionary tale about shopping carts. Seatbelt use is a must while riding in a cart just as it is in an automobile. I must add that one should consider avoiding the use of cell phones while piloting carts around a grocery store. I was the victim of a young mother (she had two walking-aged children in tow) who was a distracted cart-pusher. With one ear to a cell phone she was navigating the isles with a cart and herding her children at the same time.
I’m a frequent salad bar patron at this particular grocery store. I left my cart unattended near the salad bar and I made my various selections. The mother, children and cart suddenly appeared in my area. The mother, still chatting on the phone, left her cart and turned to a selection of vegetables. One of her children took the opportunity to push their cart off down an isle. The mother turned back and walked over to my cart and started down another isle. I had to flag her down and retrieve the cart from her. With barely a shrug (or interruption in her conversation) she released the cart and moved to catch up with her children as they pushed her cart.
Distracted cart pushing can cause problems.
# posted by Richard Polk @ 10:35 AM 
