Texting While Walking Is Dangerous, Too

We all know texting while driving is dangerous—but texting while walking is dangerous too, a new study finds, and many pedestrians are doing it. Researchers found that almost one-third of walkers in Seattle were distracted by a mobile device while crossing busy streets. Some were talking on the phone or listening to music, but texting was found to be particularly dangerous, the Seattle Times reports.

Texters were four times less likely to look both ways before crossing, obey traffic lights, or cross at the appropriate place, and they spent an average of almost two additional seconds in the intersection. Last year, more than 1,100 people wound up in ERs around the nation because they were using a mobile device while walking, but experts think the figure is too low because it relies on self-reporting. (More text messages stories.)