Perhaps this blog could be called - an appeal to the conscience of mobile phone users ... The University of Washington has performed a very useful study about the habits of mobile phone users (pedestrians) in 20 high-risk intersections in Seattle, in a few intervals during the year 2012. Observers in this study observed 1102 pedestrians that were crossing the road while taking the calls, write text messages or listening to music on their mobile phones. [caption id="attachment_3228" align="aligncenter" width="405"] The Internet is full of horrible pictures of accidents caused by typing while driving, we have chosen the one that humorously illustrates the dangers of texting while driving..[/caption] This study had the goal to monitor the habits of mobile phone users, and it has found that as many as 29.8% of pedestrians were engaged in "some activity" related to mobile phone distractions, but also jeopardized their the safety when crossing intersections. A greater number of people observed was typing messages, than taking a phone call. The pedestrians crossing while typing a message, required more time to pass the street than the ones not distracted by using a phone. This research of the habits of mobile phone users has also shown that “typing” pedestrians neglected safety even 3.9 times more, disregard common safety guidelines, like looking both ways or disobey a signal. Interestingly, it was concluded that pedestrians who cross the road while listening to music while doing it, on average, passed the street half a second faster than people who did not use mobile devices during the act. [caption id="attachment_3229" align="aligncenter" width="432"] The picture says it all![/caption] We all had a frustrating situation to "get stuck behind someone texting", but this situation is not even worth of mentioning compared to the luxury of texting that we allow ourselves while driving or crossing the road. A similar theme concerned research has shown that in the USA, more than half of teenagers text messages while driving. The study of the habits of mobile phone users has proven that typing messages while driving increases the chances of getting involved in a traffic accident 23 times. Now it is the time to consider think back of all the occasions we were typing a message while crossing the road or driving ... Quite disturbing is not it? It's never too late to change bad habits, and given the fact www.mobileshop.eu is closely associated with mobile phone sales, we always advocate and encourage the conscientious use of mobile devices in every situation. Try to change these habits (if you practice them) for your own safety and the safety of people around you. After all, nothing is so urgent that it can’t wait a few minutes…