December 21, 2012 Each year, approximately 60,000 people are injured while another 4,000 are killed as the result of pedestrian-vehicle accidents in the United States. A new study is showing that many of these accidents could have been prevented if handheld electronic devices hadn’t distracted those who were walking. A story from the Seattle Times highlighted a study that was conducted at Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center of the University of Washington and found that one-third of the more than 1,100 pedestrians who were observed crossing 20 high-risk intersections at different times were using mobile devices. The distraction led to only one in four pedestrians following a full safety routine of looking both ways, observing traffic signals, and finding a crosswalk before crossing the street. Texting seemed to pose the highest risk of danger though, increasing a person’s chance of being involved in a pedestrian accident by as much as four times. Furthermore, the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that nearly 1,100 people received hospital treatment after suffering an injury while walking and using a mobile device. The Personal Injury Lawyers with the William Mattar Law Offices are asking citizens to do their part to not only keep themselves safe when walking, but to look out for the safety of others as well. Remember to practice safety while walking on or near a street by putting your electronic devices down and paying attention to the road.
New Study Shows Dangers of Distracted Walking