Most pedestrians admit to texting, talking on the phone while crossing the street, despite risks: survey

While distracted driving seems to grab headlines, many pedestrians may be engaging in distracting behaviour on the road, including texting while walking, which can contribute to motor vehicle related fatalities, notes a new survey from Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Of about 1,000 adults surveyed across the United States, 55% said they consider texting or emailing while cross a street to be the most dangerous activity while walking.

That’s more than the 40% who considered running across a street to beat oncoming traffic as most dangerous, and the 24% who consider jaywalking most risky.

Still, 60% of pedestrians walk while texting, emailing, talking on the phone, or listening to music, Boston-based Liberty Mutual said. About a quarter (26%) said they text or email while crossing the street, according to the survey results.

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also suggests that in 2010, distractions may have contributed to 4,280 pedestrian deaths in traffic collisions, a 4% increase over the previous year, the insurer noted.

A 2011 report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) also found that 1,152 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms after being injured while walking and using a cell phone or some other electronic device, Liberty Mutual said.

The Liberty Mutual survey found that while three in five drivers say talking on the cell phone while driving is dangerous for pedestrians, 70% still admit to doing it.

And while 59% said texting or emailing while driving (either sending or reading) is dangerous for pedestrians, 38% still engage in those activities, according to the results.

“So much attention has been paid, and rightly so, to distracted driving that we have ignored the fact that distracted walking and crossing can be just as risky,” David Melton, a driving safety expert with Liberty Mutual and managing director of global safety noted.

“From an early age, we all learn how to safely cross the street – look both ways, wait for the walk sign – but as adults many of us seem to forget those simple rules,” he added.

Liberty Mutual commissioned Ketchum Global Research and Analytics to design and analyze a phone survey of 1,004 adults between 18 and 65 across the United States. Braun Research fielded the survey from April 1 to April 10.