You may have heard anecdotal reports of people getting into accidents while walking and looking down at their electronic devices. (Those potholes and curbs will get you everytime.) One New Jersey town, Fort Lee, even recently banned texting and walking, issuing $85 jaywalking tickets to lawbreakers.

But how dangerous is it, really, to text and walk? University of Washington researchers last summer decided to observe more than 1100 pedestrians at 20 busy intersections in Seattle and found that nearly one-third performed a distracted activity while walking like emailing, talking to a friend, or listening to music.