We all know the perils of using your phone while driving, whether it be to check your maps, texting, or talking. However it seems that phone-related injuries while walking are on the rise too, at least according to the Tokyo Fire Department who has recently revealed that there have been 36 phone-related injuries in 2013, an increase over the 23 injuries reported back in 2010.
According to the report from Yahoo Japan (translated by Rocket News), it is suspected that our phones are the culprit in these accidents. The people usually involved in such accidents are those aged 20-40 and for the most part, the injuries are usually mild, although in some cases they have caused serious injury and even death.
Back in October last year, a man who was walking and looking at his phone stepped onto a railroad crossing in Tokyo where he was hit and killed by a train. A 10 year old boy in March of 2013 was also seriously injured when he fell off the platform at a train station while looking at his mobile phone. There are also cases where people have been knocked down by others who were too busy on their mobile phones.
We might not think too much about it but apparently the rise in injuries is becoming a bit too common which has prompted the Tokyo Fire Department to release a statement saying, “It is very dangerous as not only is there the danger of harming yourself, but also of involving surrounding people in an accident.” So, have you been bumped into or hit accidentally by someone too engrossed in their mobile device?
Filed in . Read more about Japan.