NYC Streetsblog:

City officials have told state lawmakers that they are wrong in thinking that “distracted pedestrians” are causing many vehicular crashes.

In fact, the opposite it true: only 0.2 percent of pedestrian fatality reports blamed “electronic distraction,” according to a new city report that was quietly issued late on Friday.

The city report showed that despite the increase in pedestrian deaths, a pedestrian’s use of an electronic device just before a crash still amount to .2 percent of incident reports.

There’s reason to believe this data is applicable to other cities. As the article states, “But the larger message is clear: Drivers are to blame, and roadways must be made safe so that their errors and speeding do not result in death.”