Photo: Distracted Teen

The hazards of walking while distracted

Have you ever texted a friend while walking down a sidewalk and thought ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ For this unsuspecting guy, it was almost running into a hungry-looking brown bear. Luckily, everyone turned out okay. But what if that bear had been a car going 30 miles per hour?

Distracted Walking and Teens

Our research report, “Teens and Distraction: An In-Depth Look at Teens’ Walking Behaviors,” is an observational study that tracked a remarkable 34,000 middle- and high-school students crossing the street in a school zone. A shocking 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 8 middle school students were observed crossing the street while distracted by technology.