Police target distracted pedestrians

Toronto policewere out in force on Friday, making sure that pedestrianspaid attention to where they walk.

Twodays after a safetycoalition talked aboutthe dangers ofdistracted driving, officers were targetingdistracted walkers.

Sgt. Jack West said it's important to put away that mobile phone orelectronic deviceand stay alert, especially at intersections.

West saidof14 deaths involving pedestriansso far this year, seven involved vehicles turning at intersections.

"This is something that a pedestrian must understand when they're crossing the street: discipline themselves, put the cell phone down to their side, keep their head up, make sure that they're scanning," he said.

Distractedwalking isn't illegal in Toronto, so police weren't handing out tickets. Butpedestrians foundfiddling with iPods or talking ontheir phone asthey crossed the street could expect a lecture and a pamphlet on safety.

It's a problem south of the border, too.

In the U.S., reports of injuries to distracted walkers treated at hospital emergency rooms have more than quadrupled in the past seven years and are almost certainly underreported. There has been a spike in pedestrians killed and injured in traffic accidents, but there is no reliable data on how many were distracted by electronics.

As an April Fool's Day joke with a serious message, Philadelphia officials taped off an "e-lane" for distracted pedestrians on a sidewalk outside downtown office buildings.

Some didn't get that it was a joke.

"The sad part is we had people who, once they realized we were going to take the e-lane away, got mad because they thought it was really helpful to not have people get in their way while they were walking and texting," said Rina Cutler, deputy mayor for transportation and public utilities.