Among the many things that can contribute to how likely pedestrian accidents are is how pedestrians act. One of the types of pedestrian conduct that could up the chances of pedestrians ending up in harm’s way is distracted walking.
In today’s world, one thing that is a major source of distracted walking is paying too close of attention to one’s cellphone when out walking. A new cellphone app that has become quite the phenomenon raises some potential distracted walking concerns.
The new app in question is Pokémon Go. This free app is a game that is sort of an intermingling of a virtual world and the real world. In the game, individuals can catch Pokémon and do other game activities by physically going to different locations in the real world.
The app was recently released here the U.S., and has become quite popular over this short time. For instance, it jumped to the No. 1 spot when it comes to free apps at Apple’s App Store.
Given the physical travel aspect of the app, the app could perhaps lead to an increase in people out walking. One hopes though that, when people are out and about in relation to the app, they make sure to not get so focused on what’s happening in the game that they don’t pay proper attention to what’s going on around them. There have already been some reported instances of people suffering injuries through things like walking into objects while using the app.
And running into objects is not the only danger that can come from distracted walking. Being distracted while walking could lead to a person crossing a road without paying attention to the situation or inadvertently going out onto the road, possibly putting them into a car’s path.
One wonders what overall impacts the introduction of Pokémon Go will have on the occurrence levels of distracted walking.
As the issue of distracted walking underscores, all different kinds of things could contribute to a pedestrian accident. Given this, the circumstances and issues in cases involving these types of accidents can vary considerably. Personal injury defense attorneys can help insurance companies and other defendants in personal injury cases involving pedestrian accidents with gauging what defense strategy would be the best fit for the case given its unique circumstances and issues.
