I've been a pedestrian now for the past 6 years, in 3 different countries.  (That is to say, I haven't owned any vehicles, and I use walking as my primary means to commute to work, school, and social events.)

As an active pedestrian, I can tell you that walking is the most dangerous way to get somewhere.  There's not a single day where I don't almost get hit by a car.  Either a car running a red light at an intersection when I'm on the crosswalk or by a taxi driver who makes a frantic left turn at an intersection and doesn't check first to see if there's a pedestrian trying to cross the street, or just by idiots who aren't looking where they are going.

Since this is my experience, I always get a bit bothered all these articles which talk about the problems with "distracted pedestrians" and their smart phones.  The issue is not the pedestrians.  The issue is the cars that hit them.

So I'm glad someone over at io9.com finally wrote a nice little article pointing this out.

Smartphones Don't Kill Pedestrians, Cars Do

The same article links to another interesting piece:

The Invention of Jaywalking Was a Massive Shaming Campaign

Aside from the blood in the streets, the issue is important for two other reasons.

The biggest problems facing America today are the obesity crisis, and global warming.

The solution to both of these problems is to just get people out of their cars and have them walk more.   But as long as people feel unsafe being pedestrians, this is not going to happen.

I've written before on this subject, so I'll stop here before I just start repeating myself too much.   For my previous thoughts, see here.