Danger! Don’t Walk & Text!
An observational study published online in Injury Prevention finds that one in three pedestrians are likely to be distracted by mobile devices while crossing busy streets.The author studied 1000 pedestrians crossing 20 busy roads in the north western city of Seattle during the summer of 2012 during different times in the day.
Texting while crossing the road can potentially be the most dangerous activity, prompting the authors to suggest that the same measures taken with drunk-driving should be taken with texting while walking, a low tolerance approach.
Distracting activities can include talking on the phone, text messaging, or listening to music on mobile devices, as well as talking to others or dealing with children or pets.
Close to half of the observations were made during morning rush-hour between 8 and 9 am, and just over half of those observed were aged between 25 and 44.
Texter’s took almost two seconds longer to cross a street of three to four lanes than those who weren’t texting at the time. And they were also almost four times more likely to ignore lights, to cross at the middle of the junction, or fail to look both ways before stepping off the kerb.
According to the author’s, crashes involving vehicles and pedestrians injure 60,000 people and kill 4000 every year in the USA, and just like distracted driving, distracted walking is potentially dangerous. They suggest and i agree that it is likely to increase as hand held mobile devices become ever more popular.
“Individuals may feel they have ‘safer use’ than others, view commuting as ‘down time,’ or have compulsive behaviours around mobile device use,” write the authors.
The study concludes: “Ultimately a shift in normative attitudes about pedestrian behaviour, similar to efforts around drunk-driving, will be important to limit the…risk of mobile device use.”
While driving and texting is still one of the most hazardous things a person can do, walking and texting is beginning to be a serious problem too. With an incredible amount of apps available, and friends to text to, more and more kids are tapping on their cell phones and walking into that pole or car right in front of them.
Talk to your child about texting and walking, help them realize there can be unexpected and dangerous consequences. Should you ever find yourself in need of an attentive, experienced and dedicated personal injury attorney, contact me, Gary G. Goldberg Attorney at Law at (951) 788-8325 for a free consultation.
Journal Reference: Leah L Thompson, Frederick P Rivara, Rajiv C Ayyagari, Beth E Ebel. Impact of social and technological distraction on pedestrian crossing behaviour: an observational study. Injury Prevention, 2012; DOI:10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601
