Should California Implement Measures to Prevent Distracted Walking and Cycling?
February 28, 2012 By Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
Call the Attorney at (866) 981-5596 
Free Consultation
Call the Attorney at (866) 981-5596 Free Consultation
In recent years, distracted driving has received widespread government and media attention, from laws in California and elsewhere prohibiting text messaging and talking on cell phones while driving to educational campaigns and public service announcements featuring celebrities, explains an attorney.
These and similar efforts targeting other safety issues have contributed to a steady decline in the incidence of all traffic-related fatality and personal injury except among pedestrians, for whom an increase in deaths was recorded in the first six months of 2010, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). With researchers and analysts attributing the rise to distraction, states should implement measures to prevent inattentive walking and cycling, starting with the one that leads the nation in pedestrian fatalities: California.
Claiming more than 3,000 lives in 2010, distraction-related traffic accidents are a serious threat to transportation safety in the United States. However, efforts to combat the problem have focused primarily on prohibiting people from sending text messages and talking on a cell phone while driving. For instance, in California laws banning all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone and motorists under 18 from using even handheld wireless telephones went into effect in July 2008. More recently, the state enacted a law making it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communications on electronic wireless devices while driving.
Although annual pedestrian fatalities and injuries attributable to distraction have not been tracked as well as that of motor vehicle occupant fatalities, research, as well as several specific cases, has indicated that talking, texting, emailing, and listening to music with headphones poses just as much of a risk to pedestrians as engaging in these same activities does for drivers.
One of the most recent studies to be published on the subject comes from researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Utilizing information from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, Google News Archives, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Westlaw Campus research databases, researchers compiled statistics for pedestrians who had been injured or killed in crashes while wearing headphones. They found that the incidence of pedestrians who have suffered serious personal injury in traffic accidents while wearing headphones had more than tripled in the last six years, reported Science Daily.
Clearly, safely crossing a street or riding a bicycle requires one’s full attention, and aural or visual distractions, such as those created by listening to music or focusing on a text message, pose a significant risk of personal injury or death in an accident, explains a lawyer. While a combination of education, legislation, and enforcement would be ideal, California Governor Jerry Brown made it clear that laws imposing fines for using a wireless communications device while cycling are not in the state’s best interest when he vetoed Senate Bill 28. Hopefully, however, the state will opt to implement educational campaigns to inform the public of the risks associated with distracted walking or cycling.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Ballidis
Author and lawyer James Ballidis has written extensively on transportation safety and the personal injury claims process.
Copyright Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
More information about Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
Claiming more than 3,000 lives in 2010, distraction-related traffic accidents are a serious threat to transportation safety in the United States. However, efforts to combat the problem have focused primarily on prohibiting people from sending text messages and talking on a cell phone while driving. For instance, in California laws banning all drivers from using a handheld wireless telephone and motorists under 18 from using even handheld wireless telephones went into effect in July 2008. More recently, the state enacted a law making it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communications on electronic wireless devices while driving.
Although annual pedestrian fatalities and injuries attributable to distraction have not been tracked as well as that of motor vehicle occupant fatalities, research, as well as several specific cases, has indicated that talking, texting, emailing, and listening to music with headphones poses just as much of a risk to pedestrians as engaging in these same activities does for drivers.
One of the most recent studies to be published on the subject comes from researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Utilizing information from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, Google News Archives, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Westlaw Campus research databases, researchers compiled statistics for pedestrians who had been injured or killed in crashes while wearing headphones. They found that the incidence of pedestrians who have suffered serious personal injury in traffic accidents while wearing headphones had more than tripled in the last six years, reported Science Daily.
Clearly, safely crossing a street or riding a bicycle requires one’s full attention, and aural or visual distractions, such as those created by listening to music or focusing on a text message, pose a significant risk of personal injury or death in an accident, explains a lawyer. While a combination of education, legislation, and enforcement would be ideal, California Governor Jerry Brown made it clear that laws imposing fines for using a wireless communications device while cycling are not in the state’s best interest when he vetoed Senate Bill 28. Hopefully, however, the state will opt to implement educational campaigns to inform the public of the risks associated with distracted walking or cycling.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Ballidis
Author and lawyer James Ballidis has written extensively on transportation safety and the personal injury claims process.
Copyright Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
More information about Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
View all articles published by Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie, Inc.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
