- Headphone-wearing teenagers may be the biggest road hazard facing drivers today, a new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore suggests.
- Serious injuries to pedestrians — mostly young males — who are wearing headphones have more than tripled in six years.
- Because the pedestrians are blasting their music, they don't hear a car or train horn, and have died in nearly three quarters of 116 accident cases over seven years.
BALTIMORE — Headphone-wearing teenagers may be one of the biggest road hazards facing drivers today, a new study suggests.
Serious injuries to pedestrians — mostly young males — blasting music while sporting headphones have more than tripled in six years, according to research released this week by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Because they don't hear a car or train horn, they have died in nearly three quarters of cases, the university reports.
"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," said lead author Richard Lichenstein, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, in a statement.
Lichenstein and his research team reviewed 116 accident cases from 2004-'11 in which pedestrians were struck by trains or vehicles. In 70 percent of the cases, they were killed. More than two thirds of victims were male and under the age of 30. More than half of the moving vehicles involved in the accidents were trains, and nearly a third of the vehicles reported sounding a horn prior to the crash.
While loud music has raised safety questions since the advent of the car radio, Lichenstein, an emergency-room physician, hopes parents hound their children to turn down the volume. He launched the study after a local teen was killed while crossing railroad tracks despite the train honking at him.
"As a pediatric emergency physician and someone interested in safety and prevention, I saw this as an opportunity to — at minimum — alert parents of teens and young adults of the potential risk of wearing headphones where moving vehicles are present," Lichenstein added.
Inside Line says: "Turn that racket down" may soon be heard by a new generation.
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nikitarama says:
03:33 PM, 01/22/2012
New study says drivers pose a serious life hazard to headphone-using pedestrains
krotor says:
02:53 PM, 01/20/2012
paulvincent1 it is pedestrians like you that get hit by cars. Assuming that drivers see you and will stop is foolish.
luv4cars1 says:
10:04 AM, 01/20/2012
Just use one earbud and let the other dangle! You can now listen to music and still be aware of your surroundings...
openeyes1 says:
07:36 AM, 01/20/2012
@j84ustin; "I agree, paulvincent, it's insane. As someone who is often a pedestrian/bicyclist in South Florida, pedestrians wearing headphones are no road danger; motorists are" As for living in the worst state in nation when it comes to reckless drivers, distracted pedestrians, and aggressive cyclist, its clear that the oppressive Florida heat and humidity has effected your judgement.
j84ustin says:
06:26 AM, 01/20/2012
I agree, paulvincent, it's insane. As someone who is often a pedestrian/bicyclist in South Florida, pedestrians wearing headphones are no road danger; motorists are. Pedestrians and motorists both should be vigilant, but the responsibility ultimately lies with the driver.
paulvincent1 says:
05:25 AM, 01/20/2012
The very idea that a pedestrian walking in the roadway is responsible for a motor vehicle not hitting him or her is insane. The driver of the motor vehicle must avoid the pedestrian at all times, and short of the pedestrian committing or attempting to commit suicide by engaging the motor vehicle, the motorist must be held responsible for any accident. Naturally, if the pedestrian is in violation of state or federal law (walking on the Interstate) that changes things somewhat, but it hardly makes the pedestrian fair game for the motorist to run down.
tempesting says:
02:08 AM, 01/20/2012
It's already unlawful for servicemembers to be walking around with headphones(or earphones) on.
church123 says:
08:43 PM, 01/19/2012
@krashtestdumby - remember that the 116 cases reviewed are simply a sampling of cases over the stated time period of 2004 to 2011. Knowing the total population of pedestrian involved accidents, we can calculate some some confidence intervals and such, but its just a sampling. To obtain a high level of confidence we'd probably need a sample size several times larger though.
litewerk says:
08:00 PM, 01/19/2012
Are we gonna call it distracted walking?
There is a recent case here in Ohio of a 13 year old boy walking around his neighborhood handing out invitations to his birthday party the next day. There is no mention if headphones or a cell phone played a role, but he was walking in the road and was accidentally hit and killed by an 80 year old woman driver. Notice the part that he was walking in the roadway. Roads are for vehicles. It is very sad - even tragic - but people need to teach their kids better. If I'm walking in the road, it is MY responsibility to ensure that I don't get hit or killed. Simply because I should not be placing myself in harm's way. If I'm hit while walking on a road, it was because I did not belong there. There have been several other instances in Columbus in the past 6 months of people walking home down a road late at hit who were (fatal) victims of hit and run. When I'm a driver at night, I'm not expecting to find someone walking in the road. Once I identify a person in the road right in front of me, I may or may not be able to react in time.
Bottom line is common sense is not always that common. My Boy Scout troop leader from years ago would say "don't end up a statistic." Said another way, he was saying have your wits about you at all times and be responsible so that you don't end up a victim.
cz_75 says:
06:49 PM, 01/19/2012
Darwin at work.