A US study of 35,000 teenagers has found a dramatic increase in the number of fatalities related to pedestrians using mobile devices.
The study, conducted in 17 US states, found that phones, headphones and tablets could be deadly distractions.
Global organisation Safe Kids Worldwide, which aims to prevent injury in children, said there had been a 25 per cent increase in the number of pedestrian injuries in five years.
Anecdotal evidence indicated that Australia is in danger of heading the same way but the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association says the statistics here do not reflect a dramatic increase in accidents.
Users are being urged to watch for traffic, not for texts.
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