DITCH YOUR MOBILE PHONE WHILE ON THE MOVE
Reading and texting while walking can be a dangerous affair
IN pain. Embarassed. These words summed up how I felt after losing my footing while taking the stairs in a public area a few months ago. I stumbled because I was too busy typing on my mobile phone.
Luckily, I did not sprain my ankle or break my neck, and only had to endure a few bruises on my knees.
It was a foolish thing to do. I learned the hard way, despite many near-misses before that epic fall.
Since then, I’ve stopped checking my emails, typing my news articles and looking through all my 30-over WhatsApp and Telegram groups while walking.
It was tough at first, but the sore knees were a good reminder to put away my phone while walking.
As I go about my daily work in the administrative capital, I have seen many similar incidents involving others who were too engrossed in their mobile phones.
I have seen people walking and bumping into street signs, dodging pedestrians (while still on the phone), only to hit another pedestrian or crashing into glass doors or lamp posts.
Reading and texting while walking can be a dangerous affair — studies have indicated that the number of accidents involving distracted pedestrians is on the rise.
The Ohio State University estimated that some 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using their handphones while walking.
A separate study by the Stony Brook University revealed that when people use their cell phones while walking, they are 61 per cent more likely to veer off course, and 13 per cent more likely to overshoot their target, compared with when they are not distracted.
This rising trend has compelled the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) to launch a campaign against distracted walking.
I am waiting for a similar campaign here since handphone users in Malaysia are expected to reach almost 20 million this year.
A staggering number for a small nation like ours, but I am not surprised since I have seen Malaysians as young as two years old having cell phones to watch all the cute videos on YouTube.
Researchers are also saying millennials aged between 18 and 34 are most likely to get hurt in distracted walking incidents, and women over the age of 55 are most likely to suffer serious injuries.
Such incidents have prompted a New Jersey lawmaker to introduce a legislation to punish distracted walkers.
Under assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt’s bill, people who text while crossing a street will be slapped with a US$50 (RM205) fine and possible jail time. The fine may seem paltry, but it is a good start to discourage texting while walking.
Besides walking, we are also facing the danger of people using their mobile phones while driving, and in some cases, it has led to deaths.
Studies have shown that 53.6 per cent of Malaysian drivers tend to pick up their phones and 53 per cent have also admitted to texting while driving between one and three times a week when caught in a traffic crawl.
Another 61.7 per cent make or receive calls while driving.
Individuals who drive while sending or reading text messages are 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash than other drivers.
A crash typically happens within an average of three seconds after a driver is distracted. A study from the University of Utah found that the reaction time of a teen driver using a cell phone is the same as that of a 70-year-old who is not using a cell phone.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute has discovered that texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a car crash than driving when intoxicated.
These studies have made it clear how dangerous it is to use your handphone while walking and driving.
It is time to put away those mobile phones and start focusing on what you are doing and where you are going. Stay safe everyone!
Studies have shown that 53.6 per cent Malaysian drivers tend to pick up their phones and 53 per cent have also admitted to texting while driving between one and three times a week when caught in a traffic crawl.