Mobile phones biggest distraction for young pedestrians and motorists
A quarter of schoolchildren admit paying more attention to their phone than to traffic when crossing the road.
A study carried out by car insurance giant AXA shows 75% of 12-year-olds take a mobile phone to school every day, rising to 95% for 16-year-olds.
And almost 23% of students admit they have been distracted when crossing a road on the way to school.
Nearly one in five pupils surveyed said they have to cross five or more roads every day during the journey.
The mobile phone is now the most common gadget taken to school by children, closely followed by the MP3 music player and tablet devices.
Among pupils’ top distractions on the walk to and from school are listening to music (61%), or exchanging text messages (60%).
More than a third of schoolchildren spend the daily walk to school updating Facebook, while almost as many make or receive phone calls, and more than one in five browse the internet.
The average age at which children first own a mobile phone is 11.
But children aged 11-12 are most at risk of road accidents and account for a third of all child pedestrians killed or seriously injured during journeys to and from school.
James Barclay, of AXA Insurance, said: “Our findings show that technology could be having an impact on road safety for our children.
“It’s important for both children and motorists to be aware of this growing phenomenon — otherwise child casualty rates will inevitably increase.”
Researchers found those aged between 16 and 25, were most likely to be injured from mobile phone-related distracted walking. Surprisingly, talking on the phone was linked with more injuries in this age group than from texting on the phone.
The mobile phone has previously been identified as the top culprit for distracted driving, with motorists admitting to letting their mind wander from the road ahead while calling, taking a call or texting while driving.
