You see them every day, everywhere. Glued to their devices, these pedestrians are busy texting, watching videos or playing mobile games on their mobile phones. So caught up in their own world, they seem oblivious to what is around them stairs, other pedestrians or, worse, oncoming traffic.
Motorists are not the only ones who are distracted by their phones. Pedestrians are equally guilty of texting while using the roads and putting their lives at risk. Of the 22 general practitioners surveyed, 14 saw a rise in such injuries, which include bumps to the forehead after hitting posts or walls, and grazed knees after falling. In the Chinese city of Chongqing, a special "mobile-phone sidewalk" has been set up for pedestrians who insist on using their mobile phones.
Dr Leong Choon Kit, 47, a family physician at Mission Medical Clinic, is skeptical that one can tackle two different tasks simultaneously. "Even if you don't get into an accident, you can walk into lamp posts or other passengers, board the wrong bus or get honked at by drivers," he says. Summing up the dangers facing distracted road users, Dr Adrian Wang, 48, a psychiatrist at Dr Adrian Wang Psychiatric & Counseling Care, says: "On the road, a fraction of a second can make a difference, and focusing on your phone delays the body's reaction time."Looking at your phone also reduces your field of vision and makes you less aware of things happening around you. As a result, you may not see oncoming danger, such as a car or pothole."
