Road safety warning for walkers who use headphones
Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 2:56PM GMT.
Listening to music while out walking can be extremely dangerous, say the Jersey Road Safety Panel
LISTENING to music through headphones while out walking can be extremely dangerous, road safety campaigners have warned.
The Jersey Road Safety Panel says too many pedestrians used to walking the same routes every day become blasé about the risks around them.
Last year, eight people were seriously injured while crossing the road. So far in 2011, three pedestrians have been seriously hurt.
The panel spoke out about the dangers to mark the second day of national Road Safety Week, which began yesterday.
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I dont think 3 people is really that big in one year.. however I do see it around. I think the bigger percentage is from near misses.
Especially cyclists wearing them. Young children /teens step into roads wearing them without even looking, my bicycle bell doesnt get heard and i have to swerve, hoping a car wont hit me instead.
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Tell you what is dangerous and that is cyclists who wear them and cannot hear you driving behind them.
And what about bus drivers and HGV drivers too.
I have seen both driving with headphones attched recently.
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This should also include cyclists and drivers who wear headphones.
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And not just walking.
A few months ago I was edging my car out of my drive here in Reading, and a teenage girl cyclist rode straight across in front of me on the pavement listening to headphones.
How stupid is that?
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Although this is about people being aware of traffic around them, the bigger issue must be the large volume of people that insist on walking/jogging on the wrong side of the road, sometimes two abreast, and not facing oncoming traffic, you people will not see the vehicle that hits you up the axxe and are at risk!
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I live in a village in a very rural part of England and frequently see female joggers wearing headphones when out running alone in very isolated and quiet areas.I realise that jogging must be fairly boring and you want some music or entertainment on the way but to have your hearing blocked so that you have no idea if someone is behind you scares the living daylights out of me!Surely when you are on public roads,pavements or whatever you need to have your wits about you and all your senses available to avoid accident/injury etc etc?
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Not just headphones – I’ve had to swerve for people who walk out into the road whilst texting or otherwise eyes on mobile phone!
On the mobile phone topic – I’ve seen bus drivers as well as other drivers using their phones at the wheel. Thought this was illegal? What happened to the £80 on the spot fines for this?
As for the runners and walkers with headphones – when I run on the road or walk into town I do so with one headphone in and the other out with the volume low enough to make sure I can hear what’s happening around me. So far I’ve had no near misses!
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Ha, another case of nanny state, i understand the JEP are doing an expose next month on the dangers of not double knotting your shoelaces and running with scissors, do’s & dont’s!
They get knocked over… yeah… and… so what? We’re not gonna lose a cure for cancer here with these dullards knocking themselves off.
This type of thing used to be whats known as “common sense”.
Just hope this Jersey Road Safety Panel isn’t funded by taxpayers.
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Some interesting comments, but is it illegal for deaf people to drive, cycle or be pedestrians?
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Excellant point, negates this entire argument
And No 10, so deaf people are not allowed to leave the house without a hearing dog or a “friend”!?!? & “other senses heightened which would make them aware that they are about to step out in front of a car/bicycle/bus”, what, like they become psychic, i’m afraid it is an entire fallacy that deaf/blind people’s other senses become heightened!
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Good point no. 9 but I would think those who have been deaf all or most of their lives have their own strategies for staying safe on the roads – hearing dogs, friends, other senses heightened which would make them aware that they are about to step out in front of a car/bicycle/bus! Not a fail safe though!
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More importantly what about cyclists and cars??? Who cares if pedestrians listen to music they should watch where they are going, why dont the States just put everyone in grey suits and we aill all do nothing.
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You are right, Disheartened. The main problem the headphone wearers have is being in another world and not paying attention. The truly deaf have stronger preservation strategies.
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I walk quite a lot with my headphones in, but I would say that I don’t have my music on full blast and am very aware of what’s going on around me, constantly checking to see of there’s anything approaching from behind.
I think the real problem is just ignorant people using their headphones as an excuse to be even more ignorant. Ooo, look at me, I’m going to be really cocky and walk in the middle of the road, and you’re going to have to drive around me. My advice, drive straight at them – they’ll soon jump out of the way.
And cyclists using them – well, that’s just utterly stupid and asking to be knocked off your bike frankly.
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The article doesn’t tell us:
1) How many of the eight people seriously injured last year were actually listening to music at the time
2) How many of the drivers involved were listening to music at the time
3) How many ‘accidents’ were due to speeding, driver negligence or poor environmental design and how many due to pedestrian behaviour
3) What consitutes ‘serious’ injury
Therefore this article is as useless as it is pointless.
Just another excuse for moaning minnies to carp on about the ‘nanny state’ (#11 I think your barely intelligible rant implies that all civil servants (a) wear grey suits and (b) do nothing – wrong on both counts I’m afraid) and for car drivers to incite hatred and violence against cyclists (#13 Bob Fleming – I’m talking to you).
And so on.
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Sorry Karen, I’m not trying to incite anything against anybody. I’m a cyclist myself, but I would never go cycling with earphones in – it’s absolute suicide.
I despair at some of the manoeveres that cyclists think are acceptable, so I’m not surprised that we get a bad press – going through red lights like they don’t apply to us, cycling on pavements, cycling the wrong way up one-way streets, cycling two abreast whilst having a nice chat (that one really winds me up)…the list goes on.
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