Mobile phone related injuries are becoming a problem in Japan

We all know the perils of using your phone while driving, whether it be to check your maps, texting, or talking. However it seems that phone-related injuries while walking are on the rise too, at least according to the Tokyo Fire Department who has recently revealed that there have been 36 phone-related injuries in 2013, an increase over the 23 injuries reported back in 2010. According to the report from Yahoo Japan, it is suspected that our phones are the culprit in these accidents. 

Yahoo Japan reports that the number of smartphone related injuries while riding a bike or walking has increased according to the Tokyo Fire Department. In the Tokyo metropolitan area 36 people were injured in 2013 from smartphone related accidents, an increase of 50 percent over the 23 reported cases in 2010. The report as translated by Rocketnews, says that 26 of the incidents were related to people using or looking at the screens on their phones. Only five accidents occurred while the user was speaking over the phone. Over the course of four years (2010 to 2013) there were 122 accidents where a cell phone or smartphone was the suspected cause. The most common age groups involved in these accidents were those in their 20s and 40s. Mild injuries were sustained in approximately 80 percent of the cases requiring ambulance transport with at least one case that involved a train related death.