A worrying new trend dubbed “netwalking” is said to be putting thousands of motorists and pedestrians at risk as the British public chooses predictive text and status updates over the green cross code.

A study by esure car insurance, has found that gadget-loving pedestrians are texting to distraction with one in ten (10 per cent) of those polled admitting to spending more time looking at their mobiles, iPhones and Blackberrys than they do on the traffic around them.
 

15 per cent involved in near misses

Worryingly, 15 per cent of Brits polled have been involved in a collision or near miss with a moving vehicle or cyclist due to their technology addictions and nearly one in ten (eight per cent) have caused a driver to make an emergency stop or to swerve because they were looking at their phone or another gadget when they crossed the road.

Mike Pickard, head of risk and underwriting at esure car insurance, said: "Mobile technology has revolutionised the way we communicate and absorb information, but the worry - as this study shows - is that it can have a detrimental impact on our day-to-day lives. ‘Netwalking’ is just one example of technology distracting on the roads and is a real cause for concern for the safety of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.

Our advice to pedestrians is to remove this temptation altogether by leaving mobile and technology gadgets in their pockets or bags to ensure your attention is solely on crossing the road ahead and the judging of fast moving traffic."

Gender divide

Male pedestrians are the worst culprits when it comes to emailing while crossing roads - almost a fifth (18 per cent) admitted to doing so compared to 14 per cent of females polled. However, almost half of female pedestrians (49 per cent) confess to texting while crossing roads compared to 45 per cent of males surveyed.

Yet both genders give the same reasoning for their gadgeting habits - 69 per cent of males and females polled said that they used technology while crossing roads without even thinking about doing so. Respondents also blamed work pressures and hectic lifestyles.

Regional differences

Pedestrians in Manchester admitted that they find the temptation to check gadgets such as mobile phones too much to resist (54 per cent), while 55 per cent of those in Newcastle claimed to do so without thinking.

The research found that Londoners were more likely to check and update their social networking site while crossing roads (39 per cent), closely followed by pedestrians in Sheffield (36 per cent). Those polled in Edinburgh were least likely to do this, with just 13 per cent admitting that they update or check social networking profiles while crossing roads.

Top 10 Cities of 'Netwalkers'
 

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