Honestly, people unknowingly say this for themselves, not for the person that are saying it to.

If a person is aware of the need to be careful, he/she is going to do it without advice.

(E.g., walking on ice, driving all night, handling cobras, performing heart surgery, etc.)

If they’re so blind, stupid, or careless that they don’t see the need to be careful, then telling them won’t matter.

It falls on deaf ears.

“Oh yeah! You’re right! It didn’t dawn on me to be careful with this cobra” is not going to be his/her response.

“Be careful” is not an awareness generating warning. However, stating the reason to be careful is a helpful, if the person is unaware of the situation or danger.

“If you haven’t been out, you should know it’s really icy now” is a helpful statement. It doesn’t need to be followed by “be careful”. That’s just so YOU feel like you did your part in making them careful. But if the “icy” doesn’t do it, then the “be careful” won’t either!

This won’t stop anyone from saying “be careful”, and many will likely disagree and say it helps.

Ego is powerful. Self-examination rarely objective. Social media proves it every second of every day.

If you feel the need to say something, try more of a well-wishing statement than a warning. “Safe travels”, or “travel safely”,  maybe. Or “safe cobra-ing” as the case may be.