Posted on 09/07/2010 8:52:49 PM PDT by dayglored
'Lambs to the slaughter'
Distracted Oz pedestrians are allegedly dropping like flies to "Death by iPod" - an untimely end provoked by walking out into traffic while in a "zombie trance".
While New South Wales road fatalities have dropped overall this year, "pedestrian deaths have climbed by 25 per cent to 53, compared to 44 for the same period last year", according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The latest victim was a 46-year-old Sydney woman who walked in front of an ambulance on Saturday night while "reportedly wearing headphones".
"There is speculation she might not have heard the ambulance siren," the Herald notes.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at theregister.co.uk ...
"The government is quite happy to legislate that people can lose two demerit points for having music up too loud in their cars, but is apparently unconcerned that listening devices now appear to have become lethal pieces of entertainment."They should legislate appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare and that of others."
iPod ping, eh wot?
Naturally selected in Darwin?
“New laws are always a ‘good idea’ until the first time you have to enforce them.” - Unknown
Yes, I suppose, there will have to be Darwin Awards for those young enough that they haven't replicated yet... and that's at least a double-pun -- well done!!
Ya think? Must have been listening to Bloodrock, with the volume on 11. I don't have an iPod, maybe that is why I hear the emergency vehicles when they pour out of the local Fire Station half a mile away.
Those penalties are already in place. It's called being run over by a car.
When out and about, I wear my earbuds constantly (I listen to audiobooks and podcasts constantly)
That said, if I get hit by a car, bus or bike, it is MY fault. I have my head on a swivel.
I can’t believe people go out with these things without that mindset. Sounds a bit Darwinish to me.
LOL!
Ah, taking responsibility for your own actions. You must be a Conservative. :)
Well, yes. But it's a trifle unfair to the innocent driver of the car, whose life is likewise changed irrevocably for the worse.
LOL...I think so.
This is just logical. Okay, I am going out for a walk, going to plug up my ears to exclude as much external sound as I can, then play something so loud that it drowns out any remaining sound.
And then...I will step out into a crosswalk without looking.
Not the way I want to go. I almost ate it on my 50th birthday a few years ago. My wife and I went for a walk in Boston, and I was pretty distracted because work was really draining me. We went to cross Storrow Drive in Boston, and I looked for traffic and put my foot in the road...
My wife had grabbed my shoulder, and a car whizzed by at 60 mph only about six inches away, horn blaring up the road. I was so distracted, thinking about work and all, that...I looked the wrong way. I thought it was a one way road.
Man. I so nearly became roadkill. My life would have changed right then and there. I still can’t believe how close that was.
I hear ya there, truly.
Many years ago, when a group of friends and I would go wandering about the streets of Philly (sometimes in altered states, sometimes merely distracted), we had a mantra that we kept each other alive with: "Cars are real."
Get to a street corner, ready to cross... "Cars are real."
It saved my life more than once.
I'm just shocked that anybody besides me remembers "DOA" by Bloodrock.
That makes me just smile and think about the cool but odd tunes I listened to back in high school.
Bloodrock... hilarious. Kudos my fellow rocker. I've drifted through many musical genres but still find time to crank the old 8 track and slam my head.... followed by an ice pack and some motrin. hahahahaha
If it's just talk you're listening to, can't you get by just fine with one ear? I listen to sports and talk radio all the time while biking, but would never dream of covering both ears, and there is no need to use both ears when listening to talk.
It's amazing how many people you see foolishly riding bicycles while wearing headphones; which is illegal most everywhere, but rarely enforced.
i stopped wearing mine at work after a close encounter with a backhoe.
—
I see an endless number of dingbats walking through downtown Boston texting AND wearing earbuds. They can not see and they can not hear a thing. Have seen idiots walk right out onto bust Tremont street not looking at the traffic or the lights.
Have seen a total idiot plow right into a blind person who was walking along using his cane along the side of a building.
Its unreal - the texting while walking thing is a real problem. Not one of these people are looking where they are going.
My brother saw Bloodrock with Grand Funk. He used to have the drumstick that the drummer threw into the air after they finished playing.
CC
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.