Even if I'm looking down at my phone, my peripheral vision allows me to see people approaching before it's too late and I'm blocking their path. I don't see how all humans do not have this same ability, but maybe we are special.
I'm lucky that where we live, although it is our state's capital city, there really isn't a lot of traffic. 4-6pm is the only time it gets congested in some areas, but I can easily avoid those places during that time period. I can't imagine how annoyed I'd be if I lived somewhere that was bumper-to-bumper all of the time. That would take all the fun out of driving.