Increased risks to pedestrians while wearing headphones

William Atkins
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:15

Science - Health

A U.S. study published in January 2012 in the journal Injury Prevention has stated that the number of injuries and deaths of pedestrians wearing headphones in the United States has nearly tripled over the past six years.

The journal of Injury Prevention article, first published online on January 16, 2012, is entitled 'Headphone use and pedestrian injury and death in the United States: 2004-2011'.

It was authored by Richard Lichenstein, Daniel Clarence Smith, and Jordan Lynne Ambrose (all from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore), and Laurel Anne Moody (from the Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland).

The researchers found that the number of cases involving pedestrian injuries or deaths increased from 16 in 2004-2005 to 47 in 2010-2011.

The objective of the study was to determine if there is a risk of using headphones while walking near or across roadways or railways. And, if there is a risk, how great is it to the well-being of the headphone-wearing pedestrian.

They state that their specific objective was 'To identify and describe pedestrian-vehicle crashes in which the pedestrian was using headphones.'

The U.S. researchers used the following means to collect their data: National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Google News Archives, and Westlaw Campus Research databases.

Their data came from the years 2004 through 2011. It involved pedestrian injuries or fatalities from crashes involving trains or motor vehicles.

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