Is Texting Putting You in Danger?

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Staying in touch has never been so easy. No matter where you go, people are texting away.

Seventy-five billion messages are sent every month. Texting now surpasses talking on cell phones.

But for some people, the need to text can be risky.

"I will be doing this and then I look up and I realize that I am about to hit somebody or there is a tree, "says Max Merimee.

No one is keeping stats yet, but emergency rooms around the country, and here in the D.C. area, are seeing more texting related injuries.

"We will see twisted ankles, we will see broken wrists, sometimes people will fall flat on their face because they are looking at the screen," says Dr. Eric Glasser with Georgetown University Hospital.

In New York, a teen walked into an open manhole while texting.

"My whole back, my spine, my ribs right here, my shoulder blades up here, was just killing me," says the teen

In Texas, a bus driver tried to check his messages, ending with a nasty connection.

And in Boston, dozens were hurt when two trolleys collided. One of the operators said he was texting.

Focusing on that little screen is risky for even the best multi-tasker according to American University Linguistics Professor Naomi Baron and author of "Always On".

"We know to write takes a certain amount of cognitive dedication and that dedication can't obviously be going to other things or it's shared, or dangerously shared,” says Dr. Baron.

Our cameras easily found people talking and texting, crossing the street and never looking up, even walking in front of a bus. The occasional glance doesn't always help.

"Anything that's changing you're not going to notice."

Neuroscientist Dave Redish says that's because your brain can't focus on both texting and movement around you like speeding traffic.

Earlier this year a California woman died after a truck hit her when she stepped off a curb while texting.

"The more things you do, literally at the same time, or one after the other, the worse you tend to be at the tasks," says Dr Baron.

Many states including D.C., Virginia and Maryland are trying to cut down on the distraction by outlawing texting and driving.

One study showed texting behind the wheel increased your crash risk 23 times more.

"A lot of people say, no I don't text while I drive. Oh that means I don't send texts while I drive. But I read them," says Dr Baron.

And while Professor Baron thinks legislation can help, she hopes society will soon realize the need to be in the texting zone is not always the right message.