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Study: Distracted Walking Accidents On The Rise

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Using a cellphone while driving can be dangerous, but using one while walking may not be safe either.

A new study has found distracted walking accidents are on the rise, with the number of such injuries more than doubling since 2005.

EXTRA: Read The Study

The streets of New York City are filled with people talking and texting.

The Internet is also full of video clips showing people bashing into walls, tripping down stairs, or falling into fountains. More serious was what happened to a man at a Philadelphia train station. He was distracted and fell on the tracks, but no train was approaching at the time.

Using data from 2010, the study found more than 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms for injuries linked to using a phone while walking, CBS 2 reported.

"If current trends continue, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of injuries to pedestrians caused by cell phones doubles again between 2010 and 2015," Jack Nasar, co-author of the study and professor of city and regional planning at The Ohio State University, said in a press release.

The study found that people between the ages of 16 and 25 were most likely to be hurt by distracted walking.

Nasar fears the problem will worsen as more people get cellphones and spend more time using them.

He believes one way to lessen the number of injuries begins with awareness. Nasar suggests parents teach their children to put away their phones while walking.

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