A study published in PLOS One, on January 22, 2014, confirms what you have probably already figured out; texting while walking can be dangerous, especially in high risk situations, such as near traffic. Composing a text has more of an effect than reading a text, but both activities impaired pedestrians’ ability to walk a straight line.
Texting Accidents
The study found that not only does texting affect your ability to walk a straight line, making it more likely to wander into traffic, run into stationary objects, and into other pedestrians, it also causes you to walk more stiffly, making falls more likely. While composing texts, people tend to slow down.
More than a third of the study participants reported having had an accident while walking and texting.
The bottom line is that texting is something you should only do when you are sitting or standing still and can focus your full attention on it. Don’t drive and text. Don’t walk and text – at least not when you are near traffic. It could save your life.
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