‘In nearly a third of the surveyed cases, the vehicles had in fact sounded a horn prior to the collision’
When you hear the word ‘road toll’, you might imagine a collision between two vehicles. However, the reality is that almost one in five accidents involves pedestrians, and more and more people are being killed by cars and trains due to the loud music on their iPods. Studies have shown that listening to iPods can affect our hearing, but to think that it can put our lives at risk seems quite shocking.
Unfortunately, the evidence speaks for itself. Victoria’s road toll alone sits at over 140 people a year, and approximately six pedestrians are seriously injured after being hit by vehicles every day. Often these injuries and deaths are due to people being unable to hear the oncoming danger due to their loud music. According to Road Policing Superintendent Neville Taylor of Victoria Police, “The number of pedestrian fatalities we have seen this year is nothing short of alarming.” The pedestrian death toll in Victoria has increased by an alarming 26 per cent from 2011.
A recent study has shown that in approximately 70% of all cases, individuals hit by oncoming traffic were killed. Young people are particularly at risk due to their tendency to turn up the volume and lose all awareness of noises and dangers around them. It follows then that the majority of victims are under the age of 30.
Worryingly, in nearly a third of the surveyed cases, the vehicles had in fact sounded a horn prior to the collision. It is shocking to think that even the loudest warning can go unnoticed. Noise cancelling headphones are only worsening the problem, and individuals are completely oblivious to the risks they are taking by failing to notice oncoming traffic.
According to Harold Scruby, head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia “Sound is the most important human sense when crossing the road”. The ‘stop, look and listen’ lesson that we all learnt as children is being blatantly ignored as pedestrians in busy areas tend to follow each other like sheep across dangerous intersections.
The NSW government has recently implemented a ‘Don’t Tune Out’ Campaign, aiming to raise awareness of the dangers of loud music in busy traffic. Its confronting images are aimed to shock individuals into taking more care on the roads, not only as pedestrians, but as drivers as well.
Only through awareness can we reduce the road toll. Individuals must learn to turn down their headphones and never tune out when they are out on the street, as the price for this behaviour is far too high.
Note: Image is courtesy of Pedestrian Council of Australia