From Arthur Martin in the Mail Online:
The fashion for wearing iPods while cycling has been blamed for a rise in the number of riders being killed or seriously injured. Dubbed the iPod zombies, cyclists who are distracted by thumping tunes blaring in their ears have become the latest menace on Britain’s roads.
How many injuries or accidents were caused by iPod users?
The latest Department of Transport figures show that 820 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in the three months to June – a 19 per cent rise on the same period in 2008.
Sadly, no details on the number of cyclists using iPods. That would be a worthy statistic. Similarly, statistics show that Toyota’s quiet Prius is a danger to blind pedestrians who can’t hear the car coming. Jane Akre on InjuryBoard:
Researchers at the University of California-Riverside found that blind subjects could identify an approaching conventional vehicle about 28 feet away, but couldn’t hear a hybrid until it was seven feet away – about one second from impact.
So, quiet cars need to make noise, and iPod ear buds need to bring in outside sound. What’s next? Veggies that need to taste like meat?
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