Small children are also an issue. They are harder to see because of their stature, more prone to impulsive behavior that doesn’t consider traffic’s ability to stop, have an inability to gauge speed or distance, and don’t have as much experience dealing with traffic. Almost one in four deaths among children age 14 and younger is a pedestrian traffic death.

The Cell Phone Issue

A powerful new tool that just entered the marketplace in the past two decades is also a major cause of pedestrian deaths. We’re talking, of course, about the cell phone.

It’s now common to see people walking down the street and paying close attention to their cell phones. If there’s a pothole, open manhole or oncoming traffic, the cell phone holder may not see it.

A study in the August 2013 issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention found that more than 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms because of injuries sustained while using a cell phone while walking. The initial study was done in 2010 and showed that incidents more than doubled in the three years from 2010-2013, which led the study’s co-author to predict that it would double again by 2015. Most the injured were between ages 16 and 25 and were injured while talking on their phones.

But texting and walking is obviously dangerous. What’s less known is that distracted walking results in more injuries per mile than distracted driving.

It’s not just texting that causes problems. Talking while walking, chatting on the phone, being lost in thought or just paying attention to things other than direction are issues that can cause serious problems for pedestrians.