I see more and more people crossing the street with their phone stuck to their ear or in front of their mouth, if they are wearing headphones, and it worries me greatly. Some do it in zebra crossings, others in pedestrian crossings, but there are also those who cross the street where they think best.
Yesterday I braked in front of a lady who was crossing the street holding the phone with her left hand and pushing a baby carriage with her right hand. She obviously didn’t know that a car was slowing down to let her pass, not only because she didn’t hear it, but because her head was elsewhere.
The use of the mobile phone has become universal. It is almost a part of us and we use it continuously. This has brought a great advance in communication between people and has countless advantages compared to when it did not exist. But just as it is forbidden to talk on the phone while driving, it should also be forbidden when being distracted involves some danger.
In England, zebra crossings are marked with two white lights on both sidewalks. Anyone standing between the lights is signaling to the driver that they are about to cross, and the driver inexorably stops to make way for the pedestrian. In Spain, no. And how many times are people stopped on the sidewalk in front of a zebra crossing with no intention of crossing. Perhaps because of this, many drivers only stop when the pedestrian has started to cross and then it may be too late.
It would not be a bad idea to adopt the English system so that drivers know, without any doubt, what pedestrians will do. But it’s not just crossing the street that phone users increase the danger. Also cyclists who use it while cycling.
When moving around the city, sight is a very important sense, but so is hearing. We hear the sirens of the police, ambulances or fire engines, and this is very muffled if we have headphones in our ears that are talking to us or simply playing music.
