Text messaging and walking at the same time, it turns out, can be hazardous to both the Blackberry-wielding pedestrians and passersby.

An article in The Wall Street Journal today describes several mobile mishaps. For instance, Mike Munoz, a 44-year-old car-dealership manager in suburban Portland, Ore., describes walking smack into the bride at a wedding while he’s texting.

“Who would miss someone wearing a white dress and an 8-foot train?” Munoz tells the newspaper. “She didn’t get hurt or tear her dress, and I didn’t get kicked out of the wedding for almost killing the bride.”

Then, there’s Bryan Fuhr, who was walking his dog in Manhattan last summer (while tapping away on a mobile device) when he stepped into a road in the path of a biker, who ran over Fuhr’s foot, knocking him to the ground and leaving him with scrapes, bruises and two broken toes, the newspaper reports.

The texting injuries have landed several in the emergency room, according to James Adams, Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s chairman of emergency medicine.

Portable this-and-that’s have helped businesspeople and teens alike to not only ditch excess baggage, but also to carry a technological tether wherever they go. The wireless connection can be a positive (the ability to call for help in an emergency and keep in touch with friends) to a negative, as bosses expect employees to be reachable 24-7, come hell or high water, vacation or staycation. Plus, work productivity can decrease as we all stay oh-so-connected, and technological addictions abound.

To counter the injuries, however, Blackberry enthusiasts have come up with some prevention tips. For instance, the WSJ article notes an Internet forum called crackberry.com, in which Blackberry users trade tips on how to safely navigate busy streets while texting.

“U gotta walk with ur chin @ about 45 degree angle, n u won’t bump into nothing,” reads one post from a user named JBEL. “Trust me it works.”

And in London, a directory-services company called 118 118, operated by The Number UK Ltd., started placing padded bumpers on lampposts in the East End to cut down on injuries to texters. (The padding was also a publicity campaign.)

With cell phones and PDA’s becoming an everyday accessory, many people will not stand for even a short walk without the ability to reach out to others wherever they may be (yeah, public restrooms are not off limits!).