Texting & Walking Dangers

We've all heard about how dangerous it is to text while driving, but how about texting while walking.

Although teens may think they have an easier time texting compared to older people, they are also having pedestrian injuries and even deaths because of it.

It might only take a quick second, glancing at your cell phone to read or answer a text. But in those quick seconds a lot of things can happen, especially while you are walking around. And for teenagers, those things are happening more often and whith sometimes devastating results.

In a recent study, called "Walking Safely," researchers found out that among teens, 16 to 19, pedestrian injuries increased by 25% over the last few years. And a separate study found that the pedestrian death rate among teens is now twice that of older children. Although all of these injuries and deaths can't be blamed on texting while walking, the increase has risen along with the rise in mobile devices and their ability to text.

So, the message is simple and one that parents should talk with their kids about. If you want to text, stop and do it. When walking, especially before stepping off a curb onto the street, put the phone away and look both ways.