Cell-phone Use - but Not Music - Reduces Pedestrian Safety

Two new studies of pedestrian safety found that using a cell phone while hoofing it can endanger one's health. Older pedestrians, in particular, are impaired when crossing a busy (simulated) street while speaking on a mobile phone, the researchers found. Cellular News reports.

The studies, in which participants crossed a virtual street while talking on the phone or listening to music, found that the music-listeners were able to navigate traffic as well as the average unencumbered pedestrian. Users of hands-free cell phones, however, took longer to cross the same street under the same conditions and were more likely to get run over.

... The first study, in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, found that college-age adults who were talking on a cell phone took 25 percent longer to cross the street than their peers who were not on the phone. They were also more likely to fail to cross the street in the 30 seconds allotted for the task, even though their peers were able to do so.

Each participant walked on a manual treadmill in a virtual environment, meaning that each encountered the exact same conditions - the same number and speed of cars, for example - as their peers.

The second (and not yet published) study gave adults age 60 and above the same tasks, and included some participants who had a history of falling. The differences between those on and off the phone were even more striking in the older group, Kramer said.

Related:

-- Mobile phone users cannot walk in straight line

-- 6 million people hurt in the UK in 2007 while texting and talking

-- Padded lampost to protect texters was PR stunt

-- Suggested Bill banning iPods and cellphones for NY pedestrians

-- Study: Walking and Talking in Step

emily | 8:31 AM | Cell Phones while driving/flying/sailing |
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