I have been reading while walking since I could first read. Lord of the Rings and Dune occupied lunch times, and I would often walk my bike home, bike in one ha

I have been reading while walking since I could first read. Lord of the Rings and Dune occupied lunch times, and I would often walk my bike home, bike in one hand, book in the other. Reading while walking is no more or less dangerous than walking while daydreaming, thinking about a work project, being drunk, or otherwise cognitively impaired. What this study is showing is that a great many people are not being told the basic rules of walking and chewing gum at the same time: 1. Pay attention to the world occasionally. At my reading pace, each fullstop was sufficient frequency to dodge running children, navigate dodderers who couldn't decide whether they wanted the left side or right side of the footpath, and even fast-moving bicycles. 2. Do not give the appearance of being distracted while crossing roads, otherwise car drivers will take it upon themselves to correct your behaviour by various means from honking horns, through yelling out their windows all the way to driving across the pedestrian crossing and expecting you to jump out of their way. 3. Look up. Look down. Simply glancing over the edge of your book is not enough, you may miss the low hanging branch that scones you, or the loose brick that stumbles you. 4. Feel your way with your feet. You can not maintain your normal gait. Do not transfer weight to your feet until you have firm purchase. Out of all the hazards I have encountered in 30-something years of reading while walking, the ones that have come closest to causing me harm are low-hanging tree branches (the ones that are just above eye height but under scalp-height), and over-zealous car drivers. I swear people's brains cease functioning properly when they get behind the wheel of a car.