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Parent Category: News

Category: 6 Blog

Created on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 22:18

Written by Safety6

Researchers from the University of Maryland have found that if you are a headphone wearing pedestrian... and you happen to be involved in a vehicle-pedestrian related accident, there is a 70 percent chance that your injuries will be fatal.

I have not read how this stacks up to non headphone wearing pedestrian-vehicle related accidents nor did I get far enough into the study to see what is the increase of being in an accident if you are wearing headphones, however this seems to be a common sense issue.

"Everybody is aware of the risk of cell phones and texting in automobiles, but I see more and more teens distracted with the latest devices and headphones in their ears," lead author Dr. Richard Lichenstein said. "Unfortunately, as we make more and more enticing devices, the risk of injury from distraction and blocking out other sounds increases."

Pedestrian accidents is one thing, but how about your work environment?  Many of us have high traffic areas or have job functions where audible alerts may save us from injuries.  However many of us overlook the safety issues involved and allow the use of headphones because the entertainment helps the day move along.

The next time you are jammin out... take a look around and decide what is best for you and your co-workers.