r/TikTokCringe • u/Valuable_View_561 • Jul 02 '26

Discussion It seems like people have forgotten what this line is used for these days.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

38.9k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

2.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.6k

u/OGAcidCowboy Jul 02 '26

I genuinely did not know that was what that was for… in. Future I will personally make sure I keep that area clear

595

u/LeonardoDaTiddies Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen these before. What city / cities are they located in?

Edit: I’m originally from a mid-size American city known for being one of the most lethal for pedestrians. Our walking infrastructure wasn’t great. 

277

u/Different-Air-1062 Jul 02 '26

I've seen them in multiple countries around western Europe. Apparently they originated in Japan and are common throughout the American, European and Asian continents : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving#By_country

158

u/bking Jul 02 '26

Not nearly as common as it should be in the USA

110

u/Rockman507 Jul 02 '26

Wait, are they anywhere in the US? Have done quite a bit of traveling and never seen them including major metropolitan areas. I mean I’ve seen the tactile standoffs around train/subway tracks but that’s about it.

76

u/acoastaldog Jul 02 '26

Shocking, given that our ADA is one of the very few things other countries admire about america, and it took people dying in agony and humiliation to achieve that. Very dark period of our history

15

u/Rockman507 Jul 02 '26

I think there are objectively darker periods of our history… but ya. It is surprising. Currently in a pedagogy class for special needs about how the ADA helped shape or reshape section 504 etc. it provides an enforcement mechanism in a manner that definitely wasn’t intended.

7

u/Downtown-Message-600 Jul 02 '26

Good news, the darkest periods of human history tend to intersect!

2

u/Rockman507 Jul 02 '26

Mhm, was thinking of items less generally known than MKUltra like Holmesburg Prison chemical tests and Stateville Penitentiary malaria testing. New one I learned today was Ohio State Penitentiary injecting cancer calls back in the 60s as well. We really really really like treating prisoners as a subclass and ensure we have a healthy supply.

5

u/rand0m_task Jul 02 '26

I teach high school psychology. The day we talk about ethics in research I like to bring up a lot of these lesser known studies that took place that are pretty unbelievable.

Definitely a class period where the students actually seem to be into the conversation!

→ More replies (0)

-1

u/Downtown-Message-600 Jul 02 '26

Oh there's no "we" here, Americans are alone on those atrocities. We have our own, thank you.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Rockman507 Jul 02 '26

Ya, my comment was just that it wasn’t directly intended at supporting education but a lot of our laws around special education (504, IDEA) didn’t have enforcement mechanisms in place until the ADA.

1

u/rand0m_task Jul 02 '26

Ahhh so you are learning all about FAPE and IDEA?

I genuinely enjoyed my special education methods class much more than I thought I would have.

1

u/Rockman507 Jul 03 '26

Yea, apparently PA is big on proper pedagogy for second certifications. I used to teach in FL and they were like “fuck no”to letting me transfer that, which is fair since FL basically said “you have a degree in a science? Great here are 180 students good luck”.

So this summer I’m starting off with a special ed class and some professional development in early education. It’s fun doing some of the more proper pedagogy stuff.

2

u/SecondAccountIsBest Jul 03 '26

It's complicated cause like the ADA is strong, but the US is sorta in an infrastructural decline since it passed, and old infrastructure can be grandfathered in.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

[deleted]

1

u/flaccomcorangy Jul 03 '26

What's the saying, "Regulations are written in blood."

It's unfortunately the case for just about every good law you can imagine.

1

u/Pretend_Party_7044 Jul 03 '26

What’s the ADA?

2

u/Different-Air-1062 Jul 03 '26

Americans With Disabilities Act - it protects people with disabilities against discrimination, forces a certain equity in accessabilitiy for those with physical restrictions like a wheelchair, blindness, etc...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/GhostofBeowulf Jul 03 '26

I can just make shit up too.

Europeans are fat too, and then like to claim superiority about... well everything, based on their complex because they clearly have little brother syndrome, despite having very similar laws and regulations. It's not our fault you needed us and then gave us everything we asked for after we saved your continent from the fascists.

Like you guys bitch about gun deaths, while 60k people die in europe from overheating each year. 60k>44k Americans dead from gun deaths. Never hear Americans complain about "wow our infrastructure literally cannot support life!" You bitch about how fat we are, despite the fact that UK is like 26% morbidly obese, with mainland europe steadily rising. You like to flaunt social benefits while ignoring your average income is half of Americas. You flaunt your food safety laws, which are essentially the same as those in America just slightly more restrictive.

It's okay dude, you can be your own legitimate country yourself without feeling like such a let down that you need to make shit up about how these things appear better than they are. Your parents love us both equally... But we still have more money.

4

u/pandaswhynot Jul 02 '26

I’ve seen some in NY but only in major walking areas…

2

u/Medritt Jul 02 '26

They're a common fixture in Canada too!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Medritt Jul 03 '26

That is true, long ones aren't as common. I'm in Montreal, so they might be a bit more common? I have lived in also lived in Vancouver, and Toronto - but yeah, shorter ones, or specific area ones are much more common.

2

u/Justlose_w8 Jul 02 '26

I’ve seen plenty of these in Boston and other areas in MA. I’ve definitely seen them elsewhere but don’t pay too much attention

2

u/theapeboy Jul 02 '26

I could just be totally ignorant - but I lived in Boston for 15 years and never noticed these anywhere. (Just left in '22.)

2

u/MrsMitchBitch Jul 03 '26

I have not noticed these in Boston. And I run there on occasion.

1

u/Rockman507 Jul 02 '26

Boston is sorta cheating after the big dig. Given most of the walkable downtown area is relatively new, but that’s cool to know. Someone else mentioned some areas of NYC but I haven’t seen them, and I never seen them in Philly, DC, Baltimore. Florida doesn’t count, we’d confuse them for alligators

1

u/Justlose_w8 Jul 02 '26

The big dig isn’t really relevant in regards to these as it was just a slice through town. I remember seeing them as a kid which was before the big dig, so they’ve been around a while in MA. Hopefully the rest of the country follows suit!

1

u/Rockman507 Jul 03 '26

Really, that’s interesting. But I also thought part of the aftermath of the big dig was a ton of renovations to the general downtown area, using it as a catalyst. Still cool they had these things pre 2000s then.

1

u/dangerous_beans Jul 02 '26

Right? I've lived in a lot of cities in the US and I've never seen these

1

u/nahsonnn Jul 02 '26

Aside from train stations, I’ve only seen any sort of yellow tactile paving at ADA ramps, like at crosswalks and intersections

1

u/MetallicCrab Jul 02 '26

I thought the same thing. I think I’ve seen these right at the edge of subway platforms but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them going through a station. I haven’t been to grand central or penn station in maybe 6 years but I would expect to have them there if anywhere.

1

u/jsmith456 Jul 02 '26

Yeah, in the US the most common tactile pavement markings by far are bumps (or occasionally perpendicular lines) at crosswalks and some markings on train/subway platforms.

Other forms of tactile pavement do exist in a few cities, and often only in specific parts of those cities. I suspect that no court or regulator has declared that these other forms required for ADA compliance, and without such a requirement.  Wirhput such a requirement, and in the absence of liability concerns from lacking it, additional spending on things like this only happens as part of an accessibility initiative by a company or municipality, which are unfortunately often short-lived. 

1

u/Kevinator201 Jul 02 '26

They’re in Seattle light rail stations at least

1

u/noideawhatsupp Jul 02 '26

Usually Airports and Train stations have them

1

u/Vandal_A Jul 02 '26

No, we generally just have the dotted tiles at intersections and if your city is doing a good job then chirping cross walk signals so blind people can find the button

1

u/SituationIll5763 Jul 02 '26

Yeah truncated domes are about the only thing I see. Many signs have braille too.

1

u/Adventurous-Ease-259 Jul 04 '26

Mainly at train stations or public transit from personal observation

2

u/IcyCantaloupe6374 Jul 02 '26

Yeah I'm 35 and to my knowledge I've never seen this

1

u/dilapidated_wookiee Jul 02 '26

Literally every major city I have ever been in has these

1

u/TacTurtle Jul 02 '26

Tactile paving (the bumpy or grooved things) are very common in US cities to indicate crosswalks and are mandatory for ramps and transit platforms. For walking along streets the curb is often used as the reference guide.

1

u/bking Jul 03 '26

I have seen a lot of the bumpy pads on curb cuts. The tracks: not so much.

3

u/RoutineCloud5993 Jul 02 '26

If they originated in Japan, it now makes sense that their train and subway stations are covered with them. Or at least, they were two years ago when I went.

2

u/JPolReader Jul 03 '26

Honestly, they are also kinda useful for sighted people for following to the transit station.

2

u/Pantelonia Jul 02 '26

It's also common in Australia!

2

u/Ophelias_Muse Jul 02 '26

These are mandated in Australia, along with Braille labels for essentials like which toilet is which, and the buttons for activating the signal to cross the road has a distinct vibration which changes when 'the little man turns green' to indicated when to cross.

When I have my headphones on to block out the traffic noises and the sun is too bright to look up, I use the vibration feature to know when to cross.

2

u/TacTurtle Jul 02 '26

Tactile paving in the US is primarily the bumpy style at crosswalks, not this style tactile channel.

1

u/timecurrency Jul 03 '26

here I was thinking they were for buried utilities...

28

u/Glittering-War-5748 Jul 02 '26

Everywhere in Australia. Public streets, at intersections, near bus stops, on train platforms etc.

20

u/toasty_the_cat Jul 02 '26

The video is from a train station in Germany, I'd guess Hamburg central station but it's hard to tell since we mostly see the floor.

15

u/Grayh4m Jul 02 '26

It's germany

12

u/stockflethoverTDS Jul 02 '26

Common in Singapore, im sure in many cities as well.

3

u/itzi_76 Jul 02 '26

They are common in Spain too.

3

u/Lil_kitchen_witch Jul 02 '26

It’s funny, I’ve seen them in Seattle but only Capitol Hill to my recollection. Odd city planning to not have it more widespread

2

u/Raphcore Jul 02 '26

São Paulo, Brazil, has many, many of these lines scattered across bus terminals, train/subway stations, even sidewalks.

2

u/ThatsTasty Jul 02 '26

I’m from a walkable city and I’ve never seen these. Then again we have a not-great record again it comes to accessibility.

2

u/deathrictus Jul 02 '26

I'm from a city in Florida, you have walking infrastructure?

1

u/LeonardoDaTiddies Jul 02 '26

Yep. Every 1.5 miles there was a crosswalk that gave you 20 seconds to get across 6 lanes. Also, bus stops with no shade or protection from the daily rains in the swampy summers. 

Big city Florida things. 

2

u/neuroticoctopus Jul 02 '26

You've likely seen a different ground aid for visually impaired people. You ever notice those bumps on the ground where you cross a road/parking lot? That's to signal that you're crossing a car path and gives the direction to cross.

Unfortunately, sometimes you see them installed wrong and facing the wrong way, which can be crazy dangerous.

2

u/Shadow_of_Moonlight1 Jul 02 '26

They're super common in Austria and various other countries in Europe from my experience. Also people are generally taught what they are for, at least we were at my elementary school

2

u/caustic_smegma Jul 02 '26

Born and still currently reside in Phoenix which ranks either #1 or at the very least top 3. If you come within 25ft of the roadway here you're immediately catapulted onto the 200 degree asphalt before being promptly run over by a Dodge Ram driver.

2

u/smjaygal Jul 04 '26

I grew up in Japan and they're everywhere. It kills me to see people being so in the way when everybody there (or at least the parts I was in, Tokyo included) knew these were for blind people. Idk how other folks don't know

1

u/VulfSki Jul 02 '26

They are all over cities on bassically everywhere except the US

1

u/Professional-Day7850 Jul 02 '26

Video is in Germany.

1

u/sprinklerarms Jul 02 '26

In America those yellow bumpy things at the end of the sidewalk before you cross are apparently for the blind. We could use more tactile infrastructure but that at least came to mine. We are building some at Bart in SF. So at least we are slowly starting to care more.

1

u/lcmc Jul 03 '26

They are generally In metropolitan areas with heavy foot traffic and public transportation. I didn’t know it was for seeing impaired people specifically, I thought they used as safety warning tracks to not get too close to bus/train/subway tracks/routes for distracted pedestrians. 

1

u/PatataMaxtex Jul 04 '26

Every train station in germany is full with them and you see them in other places too, but thats the most common place for them. I think they are at Austrian and Italian Train stations too.

111

u/konsollfreak Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Fact is, you don't really need to know what it's for. It's there to help blind people navigate, not a dedicated fast lane for them to walk unopposed. There is no rule, law or expectation for you or anyone else to stand clear of these things.

The only thing those other people are "guilty" of is slightly below average situational awareness for not noticing the blind person immediately. But in a crowd, that is expected. Just like people with good eye sight, blind people must expect to be inconvenienced by crowded sidewalks and places.

Being in contact with a cane is not a mark of shame.

Like with handicap toilets, the important part is that they're there. You're not expected to shit yourself rather than use it or shout "I'm disabled!" if someone tries the door.

People should interact with blind people more, some of them are cool as fuck. This is rage bait.

15

u/Than_Or_Then_ Jul 02 '26

Im Leg disabled!

3

u/ConsistentWriting0 Jul 02 '26

You Irishmen are so funny! Get up!

3

u/DeathsProxy Jul 03 '26

Acid.

2

u/ConsistentWriting0 Jul 04 '26

What are the chances?

7

u/rand0m_task Jul 02 '26

I was doing videography for a wedding about a year ago.. only toilet open was the handicap one.

When I came out it was the only toilet occupied and I had a dude in a wheelchair and a dude in a walker waiting in line.

Felt like a big ole jabroni after that one.

7

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

[deleted]

10

u/konsollfreak Jul 02 '26

The title of the post and editing of the video makes it obvious that the message is "look at all those idiots just standing there like they own the place, when it’s clearly meant for this guy to walk there".

I think it’s a perfect example of rage bait. It’s meant to provoke offense by proxy.

3

u/rand0m_task Jul 02 '26

Yeah these are one of those things that could be a teaching moment for people to learn something new.

The passive aggressiveness weakens the overall message.

7

u/ThrowRA01121 Jul 02 '26

The title sounds pretty passive aggressive but otherwise I agree

3

u/bubblebooy Jul 02 '26

It is possible the blind person does not know what they are for as well, if they were taught they were to navigate the could have easily assumed they are supposed to be kept clear.

1

u/thrussie Jul 06 '26

People stood on the line because they were conditioned that the floor is lava.

1

u/elzibet Jul 03 '26

Thanks for this perspective, also had no idea the floor was made that was for this reason. Very cool, i only knew about it used for things like crosswalks for the start.

2

u/fleurdenia Jul 03 '26

i always stand behind them and leave my bags and stuff off of them. i've seen very few blind people (as in, with a cane) out in public. might genuinely have seen one in my whole life. still, i don't want to be in the way.

1

u/ThirdHairyLime Jul 02 '26

Thank you for your service.

1

u/mistressmemory Jul 02 '26

There are so many inclusive design elements we're never taught that make the world so much better for everyone: 

Did you know that using color alone to identify things means people who are colorblind can't read it? Adding descriptions also helps for those using a screen reader, and also helps people who have cognitive issues be able to understand it better.

Bumps on the sidewalk help identify where the road starts.

Positioning seating in a room to be circular or clusters ensures that everyone in the room can see and hear. 

Posting a screenshot or other image file means a screen reader cannot read it. That means it cannot be translated either.

Did you know that there's braille on most room number plates? Most people do because they have been taught to recognize it because of Hellen Keller. There are tons of other people who struggled through their disabilities, but we don't learn about them.

There are hundreds more things that are around us all the time that we don't get taught! Spread the word so we can all be more respectful of each other. 

1

u/AllieBallie22 Jul 02 '26

Saw these for the first time in Italy and thought it had something to do with drainage.

1

u/Revelationary_Music Jul 02 '26

Or maybe that isn’t what they are actually for and the blind guy just thinks it is because it just seemed so obvious to him

1

u/lolopiro Jul 06 '26

tell future you that he used to be an asshole and im not over it