Case · Austria
Girls aged 10 and 13, distracted by their phones, injured crossing in front of a tram
In January 2018, two girls in Vienna who were distracted by their phones tried to cross the tracks right in front of an approaching No. 49 tram and were both hit and injured.
· 1 source
- When
- Jan. 4, 2018, afternoon
- Where
- Linzer Straße, Penzing, Vienna, Austria
- Who
- Girls aged 10 and 13
- Outcome
- Injured
On the afternoon of Jan. 4, 2018, two girls aged 10 and 13 were hit by a No. 49 tram on Linzer Straße in Penzing, Vienna, and injured. Police said both had been distracted by their phones and tried to cross the tracks right in front of the approaching tram.
wollten die Zehn- und 13-Jährige den Gleiskörper unmittelbar vor der herannahenden Straßenbahn überqueren
"the 10- and 13-year-old tried to cross the tracks immediately in front of the approaching tram" — stol.it (Jan. 5, 2018)
The driver's emergency braking couldn't prevent the collision.
What this case shows
Walking with a friend feels safer — but if both are looking at screens, nobody is watching the road. Even in a group, each child needs to look up at the moment of crossing.
