Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of pedestrian deaths)

[Geoff Nathan]

And then, of course, there's 'walking while texting', which I referenced in my IT blog about nine months ago: 

http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/?p=1013 

Geoffrey S. Nathan 
Faculty Liaison, C&IT 
and Professor, Linguistics Program 
http://blogs.wayne.edu/proftech/ 
+1 (313) 577-1259 (C&IT) 

Nobody at Wayne State will EVER ask you for your password. Never send it to anyone in an email, no matter how authentic the email looks. 

----- Original Message -----

> From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2013 11:01:27 AM
> Subject: Re: Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of
> pedestrian deaths)

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Phrase: distracted walking (hypothesized cause of
> pedestrian
> deaths)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> ABC World News Tonight also had a segment on recently about the
> hazards of "drunk walking". Apparently 40% or so of pedestrian
> fatalities (I don't recall the details) involve pedestrians with a
> blood alcohol level over the limit for driving. We can add that to
> "drunk dialing" (which I first noticed when it was referenced in the
> movie "Sideways").

> LH

> On Aug 9, 2013, at 11:57 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:

> > Distracted driving is old news.
> > Now: Distracted walking: Threat or menace?
> >
> > Website: Los Angeles Times
> > Article title: Rise in pedestrian deaths may be due to texting
> > while walking
> > Article subtitle: Cities can apply for $2 million in federal grants
> > to
> > combat 'distracted walking,' which may have contributed to a recent
> > increase in pedestrian deaths in traffic accidents.
> > Author: Marina Villeneuve
> > Timestamp: August 5, 2013, 9:10 p.m.
> >
> > http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pedestrian-safety-20130806,0,643932.story
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation announced steps
> > Monday
> > to combat a recent rise in pedestrian deaths that it said was
> > partially due to what Secretary Anthony Foxx called "distracted
> > walking."
> >
> > Walking while texting or listening to music, or while on drugs, may
> > have contributed to the increase, Foxx said.
> >
> > "Distracted driving, distracted walking, if that can be a phrase. …
> > Their behaviors as they are driving or walking can impact our
> > ability
> > to keep people safe," Foxx said.
> >
> > After decades of fewer pedestrians being killed in traffic crashes,
> > deaths rose from 4,109 in 2009 to 4,432 in 2011, and 69,000 were
> > injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
> > Administration.
> >
> > New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have the highest percentage of
> > pedestrians killed relative to all traffic deaths. Pedestrians
> > comprise 51% of all motor vehicle deaths in New York, 42% in Los
> > Angeles and 30% in Chicago.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > (The phrase "Threat or menace" has an entry in Wikipedia, I
> > noticed.
> > Wikipedia: exhaustive or exhausting?)
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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