I turned the corner and within a couple of seconds a young woman walked straight into me. I took careful note of the next three students walking towards me and took evasive action. The next one made a beeline for me and when I moved aside to let him pass he careered into me nevertheless - I had already noticed that he wasn't walking very steadily anyway.
None of these individuals was drunk as far as I know - after all it was only a little after 2 in the afternoon. But they were all walking while texting on their mobile phones - and not achieving both very well. (I hope their texts were better than their movements.) Should we instigate an induction session for new students in how to walk and text at the same time? Or a health and safety briefing on the dangers of doing both together?
When I drive my car into the car park in the morning pedestrians commonly carry on regardless of my approach, immune from the sounds of traffic by earphones, travelling in their own little world of sound. How does the accident rate of those listening to music differ from those who don't?
Why aren't those texting students actually dictating their messages into their smartphones? Surely most of them have got models with voice recognition and activation? Or do they need a lesson in how to use that?
And those groups of half a dozen students walking along together all texting - are they actually texting each other rather than talking?
And finally, should I forgive those colleagues to whom I say 'hello' as I walk around the campus but who fail to reply because they are plugged in and don't notice me?
Perhaps someone could write a book of etiquette for the uses of mobile devices in public places, with a co-author to produce a risk analysis and safety instructions.
None of these individuals was drunk as far as I know - after all it was only a little after 2 in the afternoon. But they were all walking while texting on their mobile phones - and not achieving both very well. (I hope their texts were better than their movements.) Should we instigate an induction session for new students in how to walk and text at the same time? Or a health and safety briefing on the dangers of doing both together?
When I drive my car into the car park in the morning pedestrians commonly carry on regardless of my approach, immune from the sounds of traffic by earphones, travelling in their own little world of sound. How does the accident rate of those listening to music differ from those who don't?
Why aren't those texting students actually dictating their messages into their smartphones? Surely most of them have got models with voice recognition and activation? Or do they need a lesson in how to use that?
And those groups of half a dozen students walking along together all texting - are they actually texting each other rather than talking?
And finally, should I forgive those colleagues to whom I say 'hello' as I walk around the campus but who fail to reply because they are plugged in and don't notice me?
Perhaps someone could write a book of etiquette for the uses of mobile devices in public places, with a co-author to produce a risk analysis and safety instructions.
The answer to the question about whether distracted students have more accidents seems to be "probably yes" in the experimental setting anyway. I am thinking this might be a relevant dissertation research topic for our public health students:
ReplyDeleteSchwebel, David C., et al. "Distraction and pedestrian safety: how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street." Accident Analysis & Prevention 45 (2012): 266-271.