By: Mario Travieso
Liberal member of Provincial Parliament Yvan Baker proposed a bill called the Phones Down, Heads Up Act – which would encourage regularly distracted pedestrians from using their electronic devices when crossing the street.
A 2015 Toronto Public Health Report reveals that 11 per cent of pedestrian with vehicle collisions involve distracted pedestrians.
“We use our smartphones all the time, when we do, we are absorbed and focused and distracted. The studies also says that inattentive pedestrians are more susceptible to accidents. Many people find themselves using them when we are crossing the road,” says Baker.
At Ryerson University, where road crossing is a daily activity for students, “zombie walking” is apparently more common than usual. Several students confessed to walking while checking their smartphones throughout various crosswalks in the downtown campus
Many students referred to the Dundas Square, and Church and Gould streets intersections as common locations for inattentive pedestrians.
Commerce student Ariel Vasquez believes some locations are more likely to showcase ‘zombie walkers’ in action.
‘’I think, most people are just overly confident to a fault,” said Vasquez, “and places like Dundas Square, where like 40 to 50 people can cross from any direction at the same time, probably tells me that students and pedestrians in general, don’t even worry about collisions at all. Not even going to lie, I’ve definitely done it myself.”
Video: Do you use your phone while crossing the street
(Aneta Rebiszewski, Neha Chollangi/RSJ)
One student referenced the popular online interactive game “Pokémon GO” that spiked in popularity last summer as a main contributor to the commodity.
“This is all Pokémon GO’s fault if you ask me,” said Areg Adamian. “Do you remember all the commotion over that game last year? Everyone was mad hyped about finding Pokémon all over their neighborhoods and all over the city. I’m like wow, you’re just walking from park to park staring at you phone looking for Pikachu, are you kidding me?
Alexia Chabot, a communications major, shared her encounters with distracted pedestrians on campus,
“I’ve literally bumped into 4 people today, all of them checking their phones. Like honestly, if you’re going to walk through a crowded place, why would you just suddenly decide to ignore society and charge through everyone else on the street. It’s ridiculous.”
Leave a Reply