Distracted Walking Dangers

It's a growing and dangerous problem, but it's somethings many of us do on a daily basis.

We're talking about doing distracting things while we are walking. And it's becoming more common and more deadly than ever before.

We're talking about texting, talking on the cell phone, playing video games and such while trying to walk. These types of distractions have lead to a quadrupling of injuries seen in emergency rooms over the last 7 years. Unfortunately, there has also been a rise in the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents which are thought to also be because of distracted walking. As an example, in a recent University of Maryland study researchers found that over a 6-year period there were 116 case where pedestrians were killed or seriously injured while wearing headphones. In a third or the cases a warning horn was sounded before the impact, but presumably the pedestrian was too distracted to hear it.

So even though there has been a lot of talk lately about distracted driving, distracted walking is taking its toll too. The solution seems simple, especially since other studies have found that we really can't multitask. Instead we concentrate on one thing at a time. And while we are walking or running, that should be what we concentrate on. Let the phone call, text message or video game wait until you can stop long enough to not get hit, fall off a curb or otherwise injure yourself.