Bzzz. You’ve got a text message. You pull your phone out of your pocket, cast a glancing eye over the text preview panel and see that it’s your mother asking if you received the jumper she knitted and sent in the mail. Of course, you did, but you’re going to claim ignorance, saying that it must have been lost in the post and will probably only arrive the day after the family meal so you’re very sorry but you won’t be wearing it at Aunt Susan’s 60th. But you won’t reply just yet. Not while it’s on her mind. That’ll upset her all the more. Best to leave it for a few hours. Reply a little later tonight when she’s watching her favorite TV show and her expectations aren’t at the forefront of her mind anymore. Classic. Plus you won’t be walking and texting. Unless you’re abroad…
...that’s right. Abroad. People tend to walk and text a lot more on holiday. Sharing photos of the hotel. Updating social media. Generally letting the world know that you’re having a better time than they are. The dangers of a personal injury, believe it or not, shoot up. If you injure yourself and need a lawyer, know where to turn. Now let’s look at the dangers of texting and walking while abroad.
by Matt Duncan
Unfamiliar roads
No, we don’t mean you’re in danger of getting lost if you dare to walk and text while abroad, we mean there are obstacles to consider that you may not need to think about at home. Take trams, for example. Trams are the unsuspecting pedestrian’s worst nightmare. They trundle through the streets mere feet from passers by, often at speed. Then there are cities like London and Amsterdam with huge numbers of cyclists to contend with.
by Steven Lewis
Traffic flow
When texting and walking, our brains switch to autopilot for other tasks. Things like crossing the road. We don’t even notice we’ve looked up to check the traffic before we cross, but we have. It’s instinctive. Those instincts can, however, work against you in a foreign land, where the good people of whatever country you happen to be in drive on the opposite side of the road (there’s no point in checking for cars coming from the right before you step into the road if what you should really be on the lookout for is cars coming from left).
Header image by Hannah Busing
This post is a contribution to HandZaround.com
