Around one in ten careless Brits has suffered a “walk 'n text” street injury in the past year through collisions with lampposts, bins and other pedestrians. The 6.6million accidents have caused injuries ranging from mild knocks and embarrassing cuts and bruises（青肿）through to bleeding noses, cheekbones and even a broken skull. Almost two thirds - 62 per cent - of Brits concentrate so hard while texting that they don’t see things around, researchers found in a survey conducted by text information company 118.com.

Given the apparent dangers of “unprotected text”, over a quarter of Brits - 27 per cent - are in favour of creating a “mobile motorway” on Britain's pavements. Texters could follow a brightly coloured line, which would act like a cycle lane, guiding them away from obstacles（障碍物）. And 44 per cent of those surveyed wanted pads placed on lampposts to protect them while texting. The study found that busy city streets were the worst for "walk 'n text" accidents.

The research showed that Brick Lane in East London was the top spot for texting injuries. Now Brick Lane has been made the country's first “Safe Text” street, with brightly coloured padding, similar to that used on rugby posts, placed on lamp posts to test if it helps protect inattentive texting pedestrians.