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LOL (Look Out for the Lamppost)
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Walking into things while sending text messages is the latest item on a seemingly endless list of dangers to preoccupied cell phone users.
30-Second Summary
Private British information and directory assistance number 118 118 and Living Streets, a charity organization that works to make cities more accommodating to pedestrians, teamed up to produce a video clip that showed Londoners bumping into lampposts and other objects while sending text messages from cell phones and BlackBerrys.
The publicity stunt included padding lampposts on Brick Lane, a busy London street, with large bumpers emblazoned with 118 118’s logo.
The clip, which made it onto news network ITN, turned out to be a covert advertisement for the charity and the information line, and the bumpers were taken down within a day. But it focused attention on the dangers of using portable electronic devices while performing other tasks.
Arizona, Connecticut and Washington state are considering laws prohibiting text messaging while driving. Four other states and the District of Columbia already ban behind-the-wheel cell phone use outright.
The New Jersey state legislature may take things even further, as a proposed bill would ban cell phone use while riding a bicycle. Says one area bicycle shop owner, “It's absolutely ridiculous.”
The publicity stunt included padding lampposts on Brick Lane, a busy London street, with large bumpers emblazoned with 118 118’s logo.
The clip, which made it onto news network ITN, turned out to be a covert advertisement for the charity and the information line, and the bumpers were taken down within a day. But it focused attention on the dangers of using portable electronic devices while performing other tasks.
Arizona, Connecticut and Washington state are considering laws prohibiting text messaging while driving. Four other states and the District of Columbia already ban behind-the-wheel cell phone use outright.
The New Jersey state legislature may take things even further, as a proposed bill would ban cell phone use while riding a bicycle. Says one area bicycle shop owner, “It's absolutely ridiculous.”
Headline Link: ‘Texting and Walking: Dangerous Mix’
Time magazine explains how a video of pedestrians getting hurt while preoccupied with their cell phones has attracted global interest and furthered discussions of cell phone safety.
Source: Time
A clip from British news network ITN shows the video and says that a survey conducted by U.K. directory assistance company 118 118 showed 1 in 10 Brits have been injured because of walking and texting at the same time. “Most folks have a pavement on a street nearby to them that is actually quite difficult to navigate,” said Tony Armstrong, from charity group Living Streets.
Source: ITN on YouTube
Background: Cell phone dangers and etiquette
Cell phone use while driving
A study published in a 1997 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine says cell phone use while driving “is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit.”
Source: BicycleUniverse.info
California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. have laws banning cell phone use while driving and 13 states prohibit newly licensed drivers from using cell phones behind the wheel. The state legislatures of Arizona, Connecticut and Washington state are discussing bills that specifically forbid text messaging while driving. According to a joint study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, distracted driving was the root cause of 80 percent of crashes last year, with cell phones involved in the bulk of the incidents.
Source: Stateline.org
Celia Wade-Brown, the president of the Aotearoa, New Zealand chapter of Walking Streets asks in a press release, “Why does the Government resile from banning cell phone use while driving? It’s not just the physical distraction, it’s the sense of the driver being absent from the real driving situation. Trying to catch a driver’s eye as a pedestrian waiting at a crossing or a turning cyclist is much more difficult if the driver’s on the phone.”
Source: Scoop News
Cell phone use while biking
The New Jersey state legislature is mulling a bill that would prohibit bicyclists from using cell phones while biking down public roads. N.J. Assemblyman Jon Bramnick says in an audio clip that talking and peddling is a threat to public safety “due to the fact that now they have one hand on the handlebars, they’re talking to someone and they’re on a public highway.” Bicycle shop owner Pete Garnich calls the bill “absolutely ridiculous.”
Source: WCBS 880
Cell phone etiquette
ABC News compiled a “10 Commandments” of cell phone etiquette. Not shouting, using text messaging for short notes, leaving the phone on silent vibrate and choosing tasteful ringtones are among the ways to keep cell phone use from grating on the nerves of neighbors and passersby.
Source: ABC News
Related Topics: ‘N.Y. Lawmaker Hopes to Ban iPod Use in Crosswalks’
State Sen. Carl Krueger, D-Brooklyn, proposed a bill to the N.Y. state legislature in February 2007 that would ban the use of any sort of portable electronic device while in crosswalks. The bill was inspired by a 23-year-old Brooklyn man who was killed when he walked in front of a city bus while listening to his iPod. "You can't be fully aware of your surroundings if you're fiddling with a BlackBerry, dialing a phone number, playing 'Super Mario Brothers' on a Game Boy, or listening to music on an iPod," said Krueger.
Source: ZDNet
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