Pedestrians, take off your headphones and avoid serious injuries
Stop the music for a minute and listen to how you can avoid a serious injury while walking in your city.
A recent study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that serious injuries to pedestrian with headphones on have tripled in the last six years. In the 116 accidents involving pedestrians from 2004 to 2011 that were reviewed it was found that 70 percent of those accidents caused the death of a pedestrian. While 67 percent of those people were under 30 and 68 percent were male, it was found an increase in distraction and sensory deprivation caused by headphones despite 29 percent of the vehicles involved made a warning sound before the accident.
It was found that the sensory deprivation made it difficult or impossible for pedestrians to hear the train or car horns trying to warn pedestrians the vehicle could not stop. If you are out walking it may be time to turn off the music or the podcast you are rocking out to and listen to the world around you. It could save your life.
