Communication

Communication

Saturday 14 October 2017

Reader's response draft 3


In the article “Floor lights help ‘smartphone zombies’ keep eye on the road” Tan (2017) reported that the LED strips implanted in the walkways create safety awareness for pedestrians to stay alert on the road. The half-year pilot by Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be implemented at two different junctions, proximity to well-known establishments of high human traffic. The LED strips are conspicuous, resembling the conventional red and green man traffic signals. Public’s response on the suitability and functional use of the LED strips will be first evaluated before making it available to other junctions. Reports from the traffic police stated that elderly pedestrians contribute to considerable proportion of accidents, however, ‘smartphone zombies’ are still the primary cause of the accident.
Distracted walking will cause personal accident, results in increasing the chance of getting injured. In the article “Dangers of texting while walking” (n.d.), an example of such incident occurred at a subway station in the United States, where a man is texting on his phone and he is so obsessed until he falls onto the train track. He manages to get out of the track safely as the train has yet to arrive at the station. As technologies advance, these smartphone addicts put too much focus on their phones during walking. They tend not notice something or someone in front of them, hence, results in an accident.
As the use of mobile gadgets have increasingly become part of everyday life, taking eyes off from the road and being unaware of the surrounding can threaten your life. In the article “Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green man” (2015), a video of a girl knocked down by a taxi circulated rapidly. In this video, the young girl is seen crossing the traffic junction while using her phone, oblivious to the oncoming taxi approaching her making a right turn. As the taxi could not stop in time, she got knock down. Although the traffic light is in her favour, she should still be alert and pay more attention to her surroundings instead of assuming the vehicle will stop for her while crossing the road. 
According to a research study in the U.S., Maminta (2014) reported that young adults of age range 18 to 24 are susceptible to injury from colliding into a person or static object while using their phone during walking. This age range is the highest amongst the rest of the people surveyed. In another article, Lee (2015) reported that a group of four undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University conducted a survey on distracted walking. A total of 419 youth aged 17 to 25 were surveyed and 598 accidents were disclosed. From their findings, the three main causes of distractions are listening to music, texting and talking on the phone. Other consequences include trip and fall and horned by vehicles. 
In conclusion, although the LED strips may be effective in tackling smartphone addicts, however the responsibility still lies on individual to keep a safe lookout. Accidents can be avoided when these ‘smartphone zombies’ could stop using their mobile gadgets and be wary of their surroundings.


Reference:

Adam S. Kutner. (n.d.). Dangers of texting while walking. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from 

Ho, O. (2015). Caught on dash cam: Girl, checking phone, is hit while crossing road at green 

Lee, P. (2017) Using your phone as you walk may get you in an accident. Retrieved, September 26, 

Maminta, J. (2014). Have You Experienced 'Distracted Walking' While Using Your Cell 

Tan, C. (2017). Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road. Retrieved 

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