Almost one in three pedestrians use their cell
phones or text while crossing busy streets, which could increase their
chances of being hit by a car, a new study says.
Study found many use cell phones when crossing streets, which puts them at risk for accidents
Distracted walking, like distracted driving, is becoming an
increasing problem and pedestrians need to be educated about the danger
of doing so, the researchers added.
"Talking on your cell phone or texting while crossing the street is
risky for you and drivers," said lead researcher Dr. Beth Ebel, director
of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the
University of Washington in Seattle.
"We need to start exercising judgment about when and where to use our electronic devices," she said.
"If the texting person in the car gets into a crash, they know it's
their fault," she said. "Texters are not looking before they cross the
street, they are not crossing with the light, they are walking more
slowly and they are not looking at traffic. They are putting themselves
at risk; they are putting the car that hits them at risk."
The first step is to educate people about the danger, Ebel said. Some
cities have considered passing laws against using cell phones while
crossing streets, she noted.
"As a pedestrian, you do have an obligation for your safety," she said.
The report was published Dec. 12 in the online edition of the journal Injury Prevention.
For the study, Ebel's team observed more than 1,000 people crossing 20 busy intersections in Seattle during the summer of 2012.
Specifically, the researchers looked for activities that could be
distracting, such as talking on the phone, texting, listening to music,
talking with others or coping with children or pets.
Almost 50 percent of the observations were done between 8 a.m. and 9
a.m., and more than half the people seen were between the ages of 25 and
44, the researchers said.
Most of the walkers were alone and crossed when the light was green
and at an intersection. Only one in four, however, observed all the
safety rules, including looking both ways before crossing, they noted.
Slightly less than 30 percent of the pedestrians were doing something
else when crossing the street. Eleven percent were listening to music, 7
percent were texting and 6 percent were talking on the phone, the
researchers found.
People distracted by some of these activities took almost a second
and a half longer to cross the road. Although listening to music
quickened the time it took to cross the road, people were less likely to
look both ways before crossing.
People dealing with pets or children were almost three times less likely to look both ways.
Texting, however, was the most risky behavior. People who were doing
it took almost two seconds longer to cross the street than those who
weren't, the researchers found.
In the United States, accidents involving pedestrians and cars injure
more than 60,000 people a year, and kill more than 4,000, the
researchers noted.
One expert thinks that although this study didn't account for the
role of these distractions in actual injuries or deaths, it stands to
reason that distracted walking is potentially dangerous.
"While there are limitations and it is all observational data, this
supports common sense and my bias related to distractions while
walking," said Dr. Carl Schulman, director of injury prevention
education at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
"Of course it can't go so far as to prove that this poor behavior
leads to increased crash and injury risk," he said. "But I don't think
it takes a leap of faith to get there."
SOURCES:
Beth Ebel, M.D., director, Harborview Injury Prevention
and Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle; Carl Schulman,
M.D., director, injury prevention education, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine; Dec. 12, 2012, Injury Prevention, online
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