Americans overwhelmingly think this is okay. It’s not.
“It’s just really dangerous,” said Deborah Hersman, who heads the National Safety Council and is former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “Everybody walking down the sidewalk either has their headphones on or is looking down at their phone. It’s a sad commentary on our society when you look at how distracted people are.”
By now, everyone knows that talking or texting while driving can get you killed. But the fact that 3,154 people died and an estimated 424,000 were hurt in 2013 is evidence that a great many people are willing to ignore the advice to keep their attention on the road.
“Some data suggests that at any given moment on the streets of America, 60 percent of pedestrians are distracted while walking, meaning either on the phone or doing something on their phone,” said Alan S. Hilibrand of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. “It’s a bit of a startling number.”
“We’ve had people come into the emergency room who were hit by cars,” he said. “They’re looking at their phone and not paying attention to the fact that a vehicle is making a turn.”
More here
There will prolly be a law against it soon. Inattentive walking.
ReplyDeleteThe woman walking into the mall fountain pool still makes me laugh!
ReplyDelete5:15-There are currently so many laws on the books (and increasing by the day)that they cannot be enforced effectively.
ReplyDeleteLimited comment #s on this post reflect guilt on the part of the readers.
ReplyDeletea young girl stepped out in front of me yesterday. Guess she thot she was @ a college cross walk. Fortunately, i could tell she was going to & managed to stop. When she got right in the center front of my car, I laid on the horn. She jumped a foot. Not nice, but perhaps she learned a lesson. If they would just look both ways before crossing... but...
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