A young man talking on a cellphone meanders along the edge of a lonely train platform at night. Suddenly he stumbles, loses his balance and pitches over the side, landing head first on the tracks.
Fortunately there were no trains approaching the Philadelphia-area station at that moment, because it took the man several minutes to recover enough to climb out of danger. But the incident, captured last year by a security camera and provided to The Associated Press, underscores the risks of what government officials and safety experts say is a growing problem: distracted walking.
I see this often, and I report it to the police, who take a dim view of it.
Especially when I’m driving, and when some fool crosses the street in front of me while talking on a cell phone.
Perhaps this constitutes an example of Darwinian selection in real time. Of course, insurance companies should exclude health coverage for the costs of care secondary to this behaviour, don’t you think?