Distracted walking: injuries soar for pedestrians on phones

[swag]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-dwi061913.php

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.

The number of such injuries has more than doubled since 2005, even though the total number of pedestrian injuries dropped during that time. And researchers believe that the actual number of injured pedestrians is actually much higher than these results suggest.

"If current trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of injuries to pedestrians caused by cell phones doubles again between 2010 and 2015," said Jack Nasar, co-author of the study and professor of city and regional planning at The Ohio State University.

"The role of cell phones in distracted driving injuries and deaths gets a lot of attention and rightly so, but we need to also consider the danger cell phone use poses to pedestrians."

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[ConcernedCanuk]

1. I NEVER talk on my cell phone while walking around

.
.
.

or driving.

I've come close to hitting people walking across the road without checking for traffic.

Make it a point now to watch for pedestrians, not just vehicle traffic.

People are not even checking the road as they text while they wander through an intersection.

Even in a store, or just walking down the street I gotta watch for those that are glued to their cell phones.

We ain't gettin' smarter . . . .

CC

[Still Blue in PDX]

2. When I was a kid I read books while walking to and from school.

I had great peripheral vision and could watch the ground for curbs and obstacles, and I would glance up to check traffic.

I think the world was a lot safer back then, though. Far fewer cars on the road and fewer bad drivers.

[customerserviceguy]

3. We've turned into a nation of obliviots

I see so many people every single day who have 100% of their attention focused on their little electronic toy, and no concern for whatever else they're theoretically trying to do with navigation of a car or their feet.