PN I agree. When I'm paxing I always count the rows but whether I would remember or could use this info in a smoke filled cabin where all the SLF who had failed to count them or even listen to the demo were panicking I don't know. There but for the grace of god I have never been in this situation.
I think on this forum the vast majority of pax do think about their own and others safety. Most pay attention to the safety brief. Unfortunately the vast majority of the travelling public do not. Even if we told them the exit row numbers many would not even register this info because they are too busy reading books, listening to Ipods etc in fact anything but the safety brief
On the Airbus (i've no idea re the Boeing) the emergency exits are illuminated on take off/landing so even if there was an incident at this time you would be able to find them. Have a look next time you fly on one......they are activated when the landing gear is deployed. In addition the floor lighting/photoluminescent strip would activate showing the exits.
That little sentence which passes most pax by about the nearest
usable exit being behind you is good advice but very few ever look especially those sitting near the front because they think they will be able to leg it out the front door. That may not be the case if there is a fire or the slide fails to deploy......