Not surprisingly, people staring at their phone instead of the GIANT METAL WHEELED MACHINE HURTLING TOWARD THEM tend to get killed more often.
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Texting, music put distracted pedestrians at risk
A new study on distracted walkers could help explain why pedestrian deaths are increasing nationwide, even as other traffic-related deaths hit historic lows, as reported by the federal government this…
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They needed a study to figure that out? In the past 5 years, I’ve had 6 people either walk right into my car or into my path and fortunately for the latter, I saw them and slammed on the brakes. And then, they look at you like it’s your fault.
To be fair, given the number of times I’ve been nearly killed by cars plowing around corners through crosswalks while Suzy Slackjaw is busy yammering into her mobile phone, it’s hard to say which is the greatest danger. Though as the squishy ones, I’d recommend pedestrians take point on being safe.
Honestly, I'm sure if you look around, you'll also find a study showing that the old "look both ways before crossing the street" bit is being done less, by adults.
I walk everywhere, earbuds in skull, and I can tell you that it totally affects your focus. However, that one simple rule still works.
Stop, look, listen. Look both ways. Yeah, that all makes sense. The problem being, whether walking to some tunes or play with the keyboard, it's really easy, as you put it, to have your "focus" not on the potential obstacles, such as approaching cars..
I have been guilty of saying "excuse me" to fire hydrants that I walked into while reading on the sidewalk…
I never walked
acrossa street while reading a book.I haven’t walked while reading in long time, but when I did, I always knew when I came to an intersection. It was no problem to divert my attention to my surrounding until I was across the street.
I think reading is less immersive than texting (actually creating communication) or listening to music (where at least one of your senses is dulled). I’ve rarely had problems with reading while walking.