Walking While Texting
Walkers don’t get off easily, either. Philadelphia found the problem of walking while texting dangerous enough that they decided to crack down on the problem. Law enforcement officials were ordered to stop and warn pedestrians of the dangers associated with not looking where they were stepping.
After all, sidewalks have chips and dips, elderly pedestrians are not as agile in getting out of the way of distracted walkers, and bicycles have been known to ride on the sidewalk. All pose a significant hazard, and it’s only compounded by a walker too distracted to notice.
Think of the humiliation factor as well – no one wants to be the chump who walks into a street lamp or telephone pole.
Dietrich Jehle, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo, claimed that distracted walking resulted in more injuries than distracted driving. He said that London was a major center of walking injuries, so much so that bumpers were actually placed on light posts to cushion the blow from walking into them.
While driving produces more severe injuries, distracted walking produces injuries more frequently, Jehle said. The number of distracted walking injuries may be underreported, he claims, particularly because it’s embarrassing to the victim.
An Ohio State University study found that pedestrian emergency room visits caused by cell phone distraction injuries tripled in the years between 2004 and 2010, even though the total of pedestrian injuries decreased.