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Sydney's 'phone zombies' wander aimlessly into danger

There has been a clear rise in the number of Sydneysiders turning into "phone zombies" and many are walking straight into danger.

The number of accidents caused by our mobile phone obsession is on the rise.

Some users are becoming like mindless zombies, switched off to what is going on around them.

And the busier the location, the greater the chance of a fall.

Sydney Trains information manager Howard Collins said it was a relatively modern phenomenon.


“We all do it, something happens and you want to keep up with the latest on your phone,” he said.

“People have been seriously injured as a result of falling down escalators, tripping down stairs and falling between trains."

It might seem extreme but in China, Thailand, Belgium and the US there are now designated lanes for people to walk and text.

Not every trip or fall is caught on CCTV but they are now so common Sydney Trains has a specific incident category – slips, trips and falls – to deal with the roughly 2000 accidents per year.

Many were lucky enough to get up and walk away. Others broke bones.

But far more serious is the contribution mobile phones are making to the number of pedestrian deaths.