Pedestrian injuries due to mobile phone use in public places

•Injuries to pedestrians using mobile phones increased in numbers and as a percentage of total pedestrian injuries from 2004 to 2010.•For cell-phone related injuries, the increase for pedestrians parallel that for drivers.•Pedestrian injuries related to mobile phone use were higher for men than women.•Pedestrian injuries related to mobile phone use were higher for young people.•Walking and talking or texting can be dangerous.

Research shows that pedestrians, similar to drivers, experience reduced situation awareness, distracted attention and unsafe behavior when talking or texting on their mobile phones. The present study centered on injuries related to mobile phone use among pedestrians. It used data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission on injuries in hospital emergency rooms from 2004 through 2010. It found that mobile-phone related injuries among pedestrians increased relative to total pedestrian injuries, and paralleled the increase in injuries for drivers, and in 2010 exceeded those for drivers. Pedestrian injuries related to mobile-phone use were higher for males and for people under 31 years old. Using a mobile phone while walking puts pedestrians at risk of accident, injury or death.