According to dc.streetsblog.org, total traffic deaths have declined nationwide in recent years, but the same has not held true for the most vulnerable people on the streets -- cyclists and pedestrians. In 2011, 130 more pedestrians were killed in traffic than the year before, a three percent increase, while 54 more people lost their lives while biking, an increase of eight percent. The same year, overall traffic deaths declined two percent.
A new study published in Public Health Reports, the journal of the U.S. Public Health Service and the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, reveals that distracted driving — particularly driving while texting — partially explains the rising death toll.
