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Friday, 3 February 2012


Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty


More and more people are dying in traffic accidents because they are wearing headphones

A report has warned that more and more people are dying in traffic accidents because they are wearing headphones and can’t hear warnings from trains or cars.

Writing in Injury Prevention, researchers say that serious injuries to pedestrians wearing headphones have more than tripled in six years.

“Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobiles, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears,” says Richard Liechtenstein from the University of Maryland.

Of the 116 accidents studied, more than 70% of them resulted in death for the pedestrian.

The distraction caused by things like iPods and smartphones is known as ‘inattentional blindness’. As well as being distracted visually by the gadget, your hearing is also reduced, putting you are in even more of a bubble, where you can’t hear car or train horns.





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  • Lino_123 (Age 12) wrote on Friday, 3 February 2012 @ 17:22

    I do sometimes go on my phone on the way home from school but I remember to put it away when approching a road that I have to cross. There should be arrangements in schools for children to have lessons about this subject

  • animals1 (Age 13) wrote on Saturday, 4 February 2012 @ 13:06

    OMG!

  • honeybun00 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 4 February 2012 @ 13:45

    Oh no :(

  • Indiagirl (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 4 February 2012 @ 17:35

    it is good that you are aware about road safety

  • Sam121 (Age 7) wrote on Monday, 13 February 2012 @ 15:03

    WOW! That should be a warning!!!