The Danger of Cell Phones

With the introduction of modern day telecommunication technologies such as the apple iPhones and other telecommunication devices, we are now seeing a surge in the number of people texting or talking on the phone while they are drive or walking. The number of cellphone users who have now become preoccupied with some of these latest engaging iphone applications is also on the rise. As a result, distracted driving and distracted walking have now become two major problems in the U.S.

Approximately 9:00p.m one Wednesday night, late January 2012, I was leaving the hospital compound where I am currently employed; I was walking towards the garage I usually parked my car, when I saw a young female walking in front of me with her cellphone literally glued to her ear.

She was less than 4ft away from me, but despite the fact, that it was dark; no one else was in sight, and I was hardly an arm length away from her for that entire block we had walked, she didn't even turn her head at least once to see who was walking behind her --- she just kept walking and talking.

The point I am trying to make here is that, what if I were a criminal walking around in search of someone to rob or assault? She would definitely be an ideal victim! She also had a pocket book over her shoulder that anyone could easily snatched away from her.

Some of the most ideal cases to illustrate the dangers of distracted walking are these following incidents that were all captured on videos:

One of the most recent video was captured by a Philadelphia's subway station security camera, in 2011. This Philadelphia man fell onto the train tracks while walking and talking on his cellphone. Since no one was around to assist him, luckily, it was that time of the night when no train train was headed towards that station. He remained unconscious for a while, but eventually regained consciousness and was able to safely removed himself from the tracks onto the platform.

The second case was also caught on video in January 2011. A security camera at a mall took the picture of a woman who walked right into a fountain at the mall, simply because she was distracted by her phone. She was so embarrassed that she immediately got out of the fountain and just kept on walking.

What about the incident that occurred in April 2012, where a man almost walked into a bear that was on the loose in a suburban California neighborhood. He didn't see the bear, because he was distracted while he was text messaging his boss. This was also caught on video.

This final incident, which is also one of the many incidents caught on camera, shows a Chinese teenage girl plunging approximately 20 ft down into a sinkhole, while walking and talking on her cellphone. All of this happen simply because she was distracted and thus failed to notice the caution blocks on the sidewalk. A cabdriver who saw her fell through attempted to rescue her, but unfortunately he fell too. Firefighters had to be called to the scene to rescue both of them.

Based on findings, in 2008, the number of pedestrians who have showed up at emergency rooms with injuries, because they texting or talking while walking was slightly more than 1000 -- twice the number of the previous year. All of these people got distracted and either tripped, fell or ran into something.

conclusion

Because more people are now texting along with the fact that devices like iPhones have an enarmous amount of new engaging applications to occupy the attention of cellphone users, we can expect to see even more cellphone related injuries.

(C)Copyright: I.McFarlane 8/17/2012