Distracted Walking Danger Analyzed in New Report

Posted on August 10, 2012

Although texting while driving gets more than its fair share of attention, operation of a motor vehicle is not the only situation in which texting is ill-advised.  A new report discusses the danger posed by something as simple as walking and texting, as well as what to do to avoid risk.

Injuries can be common when your mind is turned toward a text instead of your surroundings.  Fatal accidents can even occur, which is what happened to a texter who walked into the path of a truck in San Francisco.  The reason inattention becomes the norm while texting is the fact that our brains aren’t equipped to multitask in such a way.  It might be possible to slightly focus on two areas, but much like how two people can’t have 100% of a pie, your mind will necessarily lose focus on something.

This can occur even if you’ve become so adept at texting that you don’t have to look down to write the message.  Even when your eyes are pointed forward, your mind is still elsewhere, not on your surroundings.  Your reaction time will drop drastically, and the injury risk increases.

To avoid danger, place your phone in an easily accessible place so that you’re not fumbling around if a situation presents itself where you do need to text.  When you need to focus on something, nip the temptation to text in the bud by turning your phone off.  And abstain from texting when doing things like cycling, exercising, operating equipment, and of course, driving.

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