Photo: Kaique Rocha
Texting is a dangerous and stupid thing to do when driving; everyone knows that. But, what about texting and walking? In addition to the behavior being inconsiderate to other pedestrians, texting and walking poses risks to your safety.
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According to University of Calgary researchers, Sarah M. Simmons, Jeff K. Caird, Alicia Ta, Franci Sterzer, and Brent E. Hagel, “Pedestrians are commonly involved in vehicle collisions that result in injuries and fatalities. Pedestrian distraction has become an emerging safety issue as more pedestrians use their mobile phones while walking and crossing the street.”
When pedestrians are glued to their phones texting, they fail to look both ways before crossing a street. Not looking both ways before crossing a street is a quick way to cause an accident or get hurt, according to the researchers.
If pedestrians are talking on the phone though, they remember more often to look both ways, according to the study. With music pumping in their ears, pedestrians are just as able to safely cross the street as when no music is accompanying their steps.
Towns and cities everywhere are seeing pedestrians engaging in dangerous cellphone-related habits, falling victim to the behavior of pedestrian distraction.
The researchers published their findings in the journal Injury Prevention and revealed that approximately one-fifth of road traffic deaths involve pedestrians each year.
“Given the ubiquity of smartphones, social media, apps, digital video and streaming music, which has infiltrated most aspects of daily life, distracted walking and street crossing will be a road safety issue for the foreseeable future,” the study says.
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As part of their findings, the researchers evaluated 14 separate studies and eight observational studies.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.
