People who wear headphones might want to ditch them while walking outside. A study finds that accidents involving pedestrians wearing the devices have tripled in recent years.
Researchers combed several sources to find incidents in the U.S. of crashes involving pedestrians and vehicles between 2004 and 2011. Searching the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Google News archives and Westlaw Campus Research. They found 116 cases of death or injury involving pedestrians wearing headphones. Cases in which people were using mobile phones (including hands-free devices) were excluded.
Over the years the number of cases increased, from 16 in 2004 and 2005 to 47 in 2010 and 2011. The victims' average age was 21 and most (68%) were male. The majority (67%) were under the age of 30. Most (55%) were hit by trains, and 70% of the crashes (the bulk of which were in urban areas) ended in death.
In 74% of the cases police or eyewitness reports said the pedestrian had headphones on when hit. And 29% of reports made mention or horns or sirens going off before the crash.
