Texting while walking leads to increased risk of injury
According to statistics compiled by the Maine Bureau of Public Safety that we explored in a recent article, 2015 was the deadliest year for pedestrians in almost two decades – and, unusually, all of the victims were adults.
While it’s unclear exactly why Maine’s figures were such an aberration, they do dovetail with a broader trend: pedestrians being injured while using their cell phones.
Accidents involving texting while walking are up nationwide, with some researchers saying that as many as 10 percent of pedestrian injuries are due to use of electronic devices. Emergency room visits involving distracted pedestrians who were on their cell phones have increased by a factor of 10 over the last 10 years.
Electronic devices contribute to accidents in several ways. Distraction, of course, is an issue – it’s hard for someone who is looking at a phone screen to also see a vehicle or obstacle. And research conducted at Australia’s University of Queensland found that people change the way they walk when they’re reading or, especially, texting – making it harder to walk in a straight line.
Taken together, these issues make texting pedestrians less likely to stay in appropriate walkways – such as sidewalks and crosswalks – less apt to obey traffic laws and, most significantly, less able to avoid dangers.
Of course, distracted pedestrians are also at risk thanks to distracted drivers. Texting while driving is against the law in Maine, but many drivers ignore those laws. Other distractions such as adjusting the radio and eating behind the wheel can also lead to accidents.
Both pedestrians and motorists have a responsibility to pay attention and minimize distractions. However, when either or both parties fail in that responsibility, it’s almost always the pedestrian who is seriously injured.
As more Mainers recognize the dangers posed by distraction on the roads, campaigns are under way to encourage both pedestrians and motorists to look up from their cell phones. The University of Maine, for instance, recently launched its ‘Heads Up‘ campaign, using social media to educate students on the dangers of texting while walking, among other behaviors such as jaywalking and wearing dark clothing at night.
Legal implications of texting while walking
Because motorists and pedestrians have that shared responsibility, legal cases involving a pedestrian accident can be complicated. It’s easy to say that the motorist should be held responsible, but texting and other distractions cloud that picture.
Maine uses a modified comparative negligence system, which means that when multiple parties are at fault for an injury, each party can be assessed damages based on their comparative fault. However, if the injured party was at least 50 percent responsible for the injury, no damages can be awarded.
Again, in the vast majority of pedestrian accidents, the pedestrian is the injured party. Consider a case in which a pedestrian is hit by a car and seriously injured while legally crossing the street at a marked crosswalk. Between medical bills, lost wages and other costs related to the injury, a court awards the pedestrian $100,000 after a personal injury lawsuit.
Under those circumstances, the pedestrian is not even partially at fault for the accident – he or she was meeting that responsibility to share the road by crossing the street legally. As such, the motorist is responsible for the full $100,000 in compensation.
Now, consider the same accident – except that this time, the pedestrian is texting while walking in the crosswalk. A court may rule that because of the distraction, the pedestrian was 30 percent at fault for the accident. After all, he or she may have been able to see and avoid the car were it not for the cell phone use.
A jury would still award the $100,000 in compensation, but the award would be reduced by the principle of comparative negligence. The pedestrian is 30 percent responsible for the cost of the accident; therefore, the award is reduced by 30 percent, leaving the pedestrian with $70,000.
Under some circumstances, a distracted pedestrian might be ruled more than 50 percent at fault for the accident and thus, at least in Maine, not eligible for compensation at all. If, for instance, the pedestrian left the crosswalk entirely – jaywalking – due to the distraction of the cell phone, a court might rule that he or she was more than 50 percent at fault for the accident.
At the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, we’ve worked with hundreds of people who were injured in pedestrian accidents. We urge pedestrians to put away their phones and avoid other distractions while walking. Texting and walking could cause you to be seriously hurt – and limit your ability to get the compensation you need if you are in an accident.