Pedestrians Crossing Intersections Seriously Distracted by Electronic Devices

Corey Basch, assistant professor, public health, studied more than 21,000 pedestrians at five dangerous and busy Manhattan intersections and discovered that nearly half crossing on a “DON’T WALK” signal and nearly one-third of pedestrians crossing on a “WALK” signal were wearing headphones, talking on a mobile phone, and/or looking down at an electronic device. “It’s clearly a public health concern given that these intersections are incredibly busy and have been singled out as being dangerous,” said Basch, whose research was published in The Journal of Community Health.