Heads Up Pedestrians campaign launched to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted walking
- The Northern Quota has officially launched the Heads Up Pedestrians campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted walking.
- One in five people in the UK have put themselves in danger because they’ve been distracted by their mobile phone while walking.
- MMU student reporter, JazLyn Tan, is leading the campaign, which encourages mobile phone users to keep their phone away while walking to prevent any avoidable accidents.
Have you seen a ‘petextrian’ lately while walking down the street-someone who has their eyes glued to their phone when walking and not watching where they are going? Or have you seen one of those videos, where people failed at texting and walking and you thought it was funny? Sorry to bring you bad news, but you may be a ‘petextrian’ yourself without even realising your own actions!
It is common for pedestrians to use their mobile phone while walking today. However, distracted walking is becoming a real problem around the world and the risk is evident, as pedestrian casualties are on the rise and mobile phone plays a big role in this issue. It diverts the walker’s attention from being a safe pedestrian, causing them to be oblivious to their surrounding and danger is amplified, such as phone being mugged and even cause death, especially when walking around in a busy city.
In fact, one in five careless Brits have bumped into things or someone because they were too distracted with their phone while walking. There are no exact figures on how many casualties occur in the United Kingdom, but there have been deaths reported due to reckless walking behaviour. Sadly, the dangers of distracted walking is not being highlighted, as much as, the dangers of text and drive in the country, unlike China, Germany and the United States, who are already taking steps to address this issue. It could take years to a cover the issue in whole, especially in the digital age.
But we can change that.
Today Northern Quota launched its Heads Up Pedestrians campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness and educate people about the dangers of distracted walking. Everyone around the world, especially the people in Manchester should sign our petition to make walking safe and stop senseless injuries by putting away your phone. It is time to practice #SafeWalking !
For more information, please visit our website at https://headsuppedestriancampaign.wordpress.com/