Are Distracted Pedestrians Part of The Problem?
There is much written about the importance of eliminating distracted driving to make our roads safer. With the recent increase in fines in Ontario and with the provincial government planning to reintroduce a bill to increase distracted driving fines even more, it’s clear we are starting to understand the dangers of distracted driving.
But, What About Pedestrians?
Distracted pedestrians has become more and more of an issue and it can be argued that with the increasing presence of mobile technologies, such as smartphones, pedestrians are paying less attention to their surroundings, and potentially putting themselves and others in harm’s way.
How many times have you encountered a distracted pedestrian wandering across the road without looking because they are talking on their phone or looking down at a mobile device?
Pedestrians Distractions
As with texting and driving, there is a long list of distractions that could put people in danger, including:
- Talking on cell phones
- Texting
- Listing to music on headphones
- Conversations with other people
- Cognitive distractions
It’s not only on the sidewalks where distracted pedestrians are becoming an issue. In malls, airport, school hallways, parking lots and subway stations are all places where you will find people walking with their head down, unaware of their surroundings.
Distracted Walking: Injuries Soar for Pedestrians on Phones
A nationwide study conducted by Ohio State University in the United States revealed some very interesting statistics about pedestrians, cell phones, and injuries as a result of being distracted. The study found that “1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking.”
To put this into context, this means injuries of this nature have doubled since 2005, even though the total number of pedestrian injuries declined during this time period.
Here are the rest of the findings from the study:
- Estimate number of emergency room visits has increased from 256 in 2005 to 1506 in 2010
- People aged 16 to 25 were most likely to be injured as distracted pedestrians
- Most were hurt while talking rather than texting
It is also believed by those who conducted the study that the number of injuries to distracted pedestrians is much higher than suggest by these statistics.
To view the full study, please see August 2013 issue of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.
What do you think? Are distracted pedestrians an issue? Do they play a large role in road safety? What can we do to prevent pedestrians from being distracted?