Modal transport design is probably a huge reason why this works. I would be interested to see the pedestrian deaths in a packed busy city like NYC vs the wide suburban roads of the rest of America.
My theory is that roads designed with the purpose of driving faster (designed with a higher modal level) are commonly placed within high pedestrian areas within the US (Stroads) and due to that higher modal mental state people are “comfortable” and thus use their phones as their brains are less occupied. While in a busy city street they’re in that 1st modal mental state so they are focused on their surroundings way more.
I don’t like getting oils and sweat on my screen. I also don’t like putting my dirty screen on my face.
I can still talk to someone and do other stuff on my phone. If I want privacy or I’m in an area where speakerphone would be annoying then fine I’ll use it the old way, but generally I have headphones to bridge that gap anyways.