distracted by cell phones and other electronic devices while walking are at a significantly
higher risk of being involved in an accident.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA),
distracted walking is a risk at par with distracted driving. Most distractions involving
pedestrians are related to cell phones and electronic devices. In fact,
distracted walking is being blamed for an increase in pedestrian fatalities, as
those numbers have begun to spike after years of reduction in such deaths.
It's not just those pedestrians who are looking down at
their smart phone screens or typing on their keypads that experts are worried
about. It's also those pedestrians who are listening to music on their personal
music players with their headphones on that are also at a higher risk of being
involved in an accident. When you have your headphones on, you're less likely
to hear an approaching car, or detect any other audible signs of danger
nearby.
The risk of an accident involving distracted pedestrians
seems to be especially high among young and teenage pedestrians. When students
between the ages of 15 and 19 were asked about their cell phone practices
recently, approximately 50% of them admitted that they frequently used the cell
phone while walking to school. Walking to school is a practice that needs to be
encouraged among children, but walking can be deadly when you introduce cell
phones to the situation. Even more dangerous is the increasing trend of students
looking down at their cell phones when they're crossing the road.
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