Last week, Bonnie Miller, of South Bend, Indiana was walking along the pier with her husband and their son. She remembered she scheduled an appointment incorrectly and was texting to change the appointment. While she was texting and walking, she walked off the pier and fell into the icy water below.
Her husband and a bystander jumped in to help, moving her closer to the pier. Her son reached for her hand and they all held onto her until rescue arrived.
She is very lucky this accident did not result in loss of life; hers, her husband's and the bystander's lives were all in danger. They were in the river channel leading to Lake Michigan.
~*~*~*~
In February of this year, while the cameras were rolling reporting the news, a woman walks into the picture. Watch the woman to the right of the screen. While she is waking and texting, she falls down the stairs.
Nice people rushed over to help her and I'm sure she was embarrassed, too.
~*~*~*~
Cathy Cruz Marreno of Reading, Pennsylvania was walking in the Berkshire Mall while texting. She suddenly falls, head first, into the fountain. Cathy, who works in that mall, was so embarrassed when this video went viral, she hired an attorney.
Merreno said Security did not do enough...what!?! Unfortunately for you, Cathy, it is your responsibility to look where you are walking.
A Stony Brook University research team recently released a study on texting while walking. From Yahoo News:
"Earlier this year, a research team at Stony Brook University conducted a study around texting while walking and found that participants consistently veered away from walking a straight path by a 60 percent deviation. Wandering to the left or right could easily explain how Bonnie Miller found herself falling off the edge of the pier. The amount of distance traveled by people within the study increased by 13 percent and participants took approximately 33 percent longer to reach a destination when texting while walking. The research team also found that walking while talking on a cell phone increased travel time by about 16 percent."Please read the entire Stony Brook University study here.
Bonnie Miller, Cathy Cruz Merreno and the unknown woman only got their pride hurt this time. Hopefully, they learned a valuable lesson and will not walk while texting in the future.
Peace
