UK: Last year 6 million people hurt while texting and talking
By Dusan Belic on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 6:30 AM PST In General
Suddenly that UK law that could get you 2 years in jail for texting while driving makes sense — and this is not to say we support texting while driving, it’s just this seems kinda too harsh. According to a new study by phone directory service 118118, last year 6 million people in Britain were hurt while texting and/or talking, with injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to broken noses, cheekbones and even a fractured skull.
The research discovered 63% of people concentrate so hard while texting they are unaware of their surroundings. One in four would support “mobile lanes” on pavements to highlight the increasing number of hazards, and nearly a half back the use of protective pads around them.
A total of 1,055 people were surveyed and conclusion was: “Britons are clearly text addicts so we need to make sure they are protected on the streets.”
[Via: textually.org]
I text and walk (and surf, check RSS, browse radio stations, even on the odd occasion… watch TV!)
Texting is probably the most difficult thing to do on the move – even more so than viewing TV! Why? It’s probably due to the fact that you really need to concentrate when replying to a text. As such you don’t tend to look up from the phone. You blindly keep heading on without any awareness to your surroundings. I’d never even dream about texting whilst driving a car.
So, potentially 2 years in prison for texting whilst driving – I think that’s a good idea as long as common sense prevails. I mean, if someone is in a huge roadblock and the traffic is going nowhere, surely it should be okay to text then?