Headphone blasts and dicing with death
Pedestrians with headphones and chatting on their cellphones are oblivious to street traffic
We all enjoy the loud blast and intimacy of listening to music on our headphones.
During morning jogs, afternoon walks, workout sessions and even when squashed in the backseat of a mini taxi – listening to some soothing sounds somehow make the journey bearable and kills travel time.
With music on phones or MP3 players, it’s very common for people to listen when they are walking to break up the boredom.
But did you know that headphone-related accidents are on the rise across the globe, and that pedestrians are on top of that list?
According to research, pedestrians with headphones increase their chances of being hit by a vehicle – and are mainly men.
These fatal incidents mostly involve young people between the ages of 21 and 30 and mainly happen at train stations and on the roads when they are distracted by loud music.
We never think about the consequences of headphones, do we, and how they can cost us our lives?
For years I have also been part of the group of those ignorant people on the roads, until a near death experience this morning.
It took being missed by a heavy truck by centimeters for me to comprehend the important of being vigilant on the road.
The blaring sound of Erykah Badu somehow prevented me from hearing the loud truck horn.
I was consumed by jamming to the sounds of ‘You better call Tyrone’ that I forgot the basic principle of crossing the road – look left, look right, then left again.
Some statistics you should know
• According to one study, 68 percent of pedestrians with headphones are involved in motor accidents
• Sixty-seven percent of those individuals are under 30 years old
• In about 70 percent of these accidents, the individuals who get hit die
• The vast majority of the accidents happen in cities
• The most important statistic of all is that a warning was sounded in just 29 percent of these cases
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