We hear a lot of debate about the balance between personal freedom and the dangers of distracted driving when it come to smartphones. But now it appears those dangers are becoming an issue for pedestrians.
The Associated Press reports that, based on reports from 100 emergency rooms, an estimated 1,152 people needed hospital treatment in the US last year for injuries suffered while walking and using a portable electronic device (which could also include music players and handheld games consoles.)
As that’s an extrapolation, it’s tough to read too much into the precise figure, though the Consumer Product Safety Commisssion, which produced the statistic, notes that it’s probably an underestimate as it only counts cases where the patient specifically mentioned the electronic device and then staff recorded that fact in their notes.
The figure has risen four-fold in the space of seven years. While the number of people who have cellphones hasn’t changed dramatically in that time, the proportion who own smartphones has shot up. That certainly allows for a loose theory that the main cause for the apparent trend is that users are more likely to spend longer looking at a screen while on the move.
Although there have been some efforts to bring in local laws restricting people from walking in public while being distracted, there has been little appetite for such ideas from local politicians. The closest the AP could find was a token $50 fine for people using distracting electronic devices while crossing light-rail tracks in Salt Lake City.
And while there are even reports of deaths among distracted walkers, it appears many and likely even most of these are because people are wearing earphones rather than because they are looking at screens.
In terms of political debate, the issue seems to come down to who’s affected. It’s certainly feasible that people crossing the road without paying attention may cause injuries to drivers and passengers when cars swerve. For the most part though, it seems the most likely injury is to the pedestrian himself, often walking into walls or posts, or tripping over, and from a criminal perspective at least, the US seems happy to let people face the consequences of their own stupidity.
We often hear about how the beauty of computer-based jobs is that you can work anywhere. A new project aims to take advantage of that theory by taking 12 programmers to a hackathon on a mystery tropical island.
Come Hack With Us is being run by Walter Heck, who previously worked on a programming project. It appears he enjoyed the concept of working in a remote area with few hassles or distractions, but wasn’t quite so keen on the temperature.
Participants will get free food and lodging, while those with a stereotypical view of programmers will be pleased to know cleaning will also be taken care of. However, the participants will have to make their own way to the island and pay a “symbolic” fee designed to deter timewasters.
Heck told the BBC that the idea of the set-up was to remove all distractions to see if this increased productivity. The precise location isn’t confirmed yet, though it’s likely to be in the Phillippines where many islands have both reliable power supplies and microwave internet access.
Applicants will be vetted on two criteria. Firstly there’ll be a psychological assessment to make sure people are suitable to spend two months working in a small group. Secondly, each applicant will have to come up with a project to work on during the trip. It won’t simply be a case of picking the most interest projects: instead Heck will try to put together the right combination of people and projects so that the programmers can benefit from collaboration.
Heck has also considered looking for sponsors for the project, though as he told his Facebook followers, “Paid [by the programmer] would allow you more freedom, sponsored will allow more fun.”
