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Fox Farley Willis & Burnette Attorneys At Law
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Texting While You Walk Is Actually A Pretty Bad Idea

TextWalk

Can you imagine a movie where someone is texting, and falls into a hole, or runs into a tree? The notion of people injuring themselves while walking and texting actually seems kind of funny. However, in real life, texting while walking actually does cause people injuries, and it is something that people need to be aware of.

Walking and Driving

We hear a lot about the dangers of texting while driving. Specifically, the lack of focus, diversion of attention, and the distraction, all are major contributors to car accidents when people text and drive.

Aside from the fact that you are not operating a multi-ton speeding vehicle, texting while walking poses much the same hazards. The lack of focus and distraction can end up causing you injury, when you text and walk at the same time.

Walking While Texting is Dangerous

Believe it or not, statistics indicate that there are over 2,000 deaths to pedestrians that happen when pedestrians try to walk and text at the same time. This makes sense—according to study, just over half of the people studied were unable to simply walk in a straight line, while they were texting. If someone can’t walk in a straight line, they likely can’t stay on a sidewalk, in a designated crosswalk, or observe their surroundings properly.

There may also be a link to what people are doing on their phone, and being injured. According to the study, people who listened to music tended to have better focus and attention. The real distraction came from things that tended to divert the eyes or hands, such as browsing the internet, or texting.

If you think you are a safe and observant walker even when using your phone, you may be surprised to learn that just using your phone can cause you injuries. When your head is down, the way it would be if you were looking at a phone screen while walking, there is more pressure on the neck. That extra 20-30 pounds of pressure can cause long term injuries to the spine and to the neck.

Comparative Negligence: You Will be Blamed

Another problem with texting while walking, is the blame that will be put on you if you are injured. If you’re hit by a car, fall over something on the ground, trip over something in your pathway that shouldn’t be there…no matter what happens to you, if you are injured because of someone else’s actions, they will surely try to say that your injury was caused, in full or in part, by your being distracted with your phone.

This accusation, if believed by a jury, can result in losing thousands of dollars in recovery. You are almost allowing someone else to be negligent towards you, by walking and texting, as you are letting them off the hook for potentially thousands of dollars.

Call the Clinton personal injury attorneys at Fox Willis Burnette, PLLC, today for help if you are injured as a pedestrian in any kind of accident.

Resource:

cnn.com/2019/12/05/health/cell-phone-injury-increase-texting-wellness/index.html

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