Terrell • Hogan has been educating about the dangers of Distracted Driving. However, cell phone usage is not only dangerous when driving. It is also dangerous when walking. A new nationwide study coauthored by Professor Jack Nasar of The Ohio State University shows that the number of injuries related to cell phone use while walking has more than doubled since 2005. In 2010, more than 1,500 pedestrians were treated in Emergency Rooms for injuries related to cell phone usage while walking. The study examined 7 years of data, from 2004-2010. It found that young people, ages 16-25, were the ones most likely to be injured and surprisingly found that pedestrians are more likely to be injured while talking on their cell phone (69%), not while texting (9%). Why? Probably because fewer people text while walking. Nasar believes that the number of injuries to distracted pedestrians are actually much higher than the data suggests, because not everyone treats at Emergency Rooms. He also predicts that the number of injuries are going to increase, unless society changes the norms for cell phone usage.
For more information about the study: Distracted Walking
Study: Cell phone-related pedestrian injuries soar