Distracted Walking

You see them just about everywhere these days, earbuds and headphones. But wearing them might increase your chances of getting run over.

We are talking about the small buds or even larger headphones people use to listen to music. They fit nicely inside the ear and give you a great sound, but they also tend to block out any outside noise and that's where the problem comes in.

It's basically distracted walking and it's taking a bigger toll around the country than you'd probably think. A new study has found that the number of pedestrians seriously injured or killed while walking near roads or railways while wearing headphones or earbuds has tripled in the last 6 years alone. Although the numbers are still small, with only 47 deaths happening this way last year, that's still a big increase for the 16 occurring back in 2004 and 2005. This study, published in the Journal Prevention found that in some cases horns or even sirens were used before the pedestrian was struck.

We've heard recently about the issues with distracted driving, but now it looks like we need to concentrate a bit more on avoiding distracted walking. Something that unfortunately could prove fatal. But the solution is simple, turn down the volume and pay attention to what's going on around you, especially if crossing a street.