Watch before you walk
It's a familiar sight that will become common in cities, towns and countryside across Ireland as we move into spring.
Walkers will be out for daily exercise, wrapped up in music on their headphones.
Many of us ease the boredom of a walk by listening to an iPod, but new research warns not to allow it to distract us when walking by the side of a busy road.
Distraction and sensory deprivation, where someone wearing headphones is unable to hear any external sounds, can lead to accidents.
Distraction caused by electronic devices has been coined "inattentional blindness", which lowers resources the brain devotes to external stimuli.
Sounds may be more important than visual ones when using a handheld device, according to the journal 'Injury Prevention'.
The number of cases of serious injury sustained while walking and wearing headphones for an iPod or MP3 player has tripled in six years in the United States.
Those affected are mostly teens and young adults.
During the study period, there were 116 cases and 81 of these (70pc) were fatal. In three out of four cases, eyewitnesses said the victim was wearing headphones.
In around one in four reports (29pc), mention was made of horns being sounded before the individual was hit.
Basic safety tips include:
-Stop, look and listen.
-Don't try to cross the road between parked cars.
-Cross at a pedestrian crossing or traffic light.
-If there is no footpath, walk/run/jog on the right-hand side of the road, facing oncoming traffic.
-Walk no more than two abreast.
Originally published in
