HDTV/3D TV News
The insurance arm of breakdown recovery firm the AA has been warning about the dangers of wearing an iPod when around busy roads.
The AA coins a new phrase, “iPod oblivion”, which afflicts Apple gadget users – and indeed other MP3 player or smartphone owners – turning them into zombies in a “trance-like state” which can be lethal.
Pedestrians and joggers listening to music are in another world and lack concentration on their environment, as well as not being able to hear traffic. Those wrapped up in texting on their smartphones also suffer from a similar lack of attention.
The AA Insurance reckons that pedestrians’ lack of attention due to these factors could cause 17 collisions every day, extrapolating its figures across the general population of the UK. This represents a 5% increase in these sort incidents since last year.
Furthermore, the AA claims that the zombified state may be the cause of some 500 pedestrian deaths of the total 27,000 pedestrian casualties there were last year.
The AA points out that it’s not only pedestrians, but also cyclists and MP3 wearing motorists (or those with their stereo blaring loudly) who suffer from deprived senses and the greater likelihood of causing an accident.
Edmund King, AA President, commented: “We can’t stop the march of technology but we need to halt the ‘iPod pedestrian, cycle and driver zombies’. Whether on two feet, two wheels or four, too many people are suffering from so-called iPod oblivion.”
“When on the move our brains have much to take in and using technological gadgets means that our brains can’t always concentrate on so many things at once. This is when we walk into traffic, don’t hear the truck or drive cocooned from the outside world.”
So what can you do? There’s only one way to stop a zombie, as we all know from the movies, and that’s decapitation, preferably with some manner of gardening implement. Although the AA’s advice, to turn the volume on your personal music player down so you can actually still hear traffic around you, might be a more sensible move.
Lol iPod Zombies, you’d have to be a Zombie to buy an iPod piece of crap to begin with.
Lol, Steve wins.
I am a motorcyclist and I see all kinds of these zombies and they are a hazard to themselves and others.
I was not suprised to read this report: As a commuter in London, iPod zombies are a constant nuisance. When I disembark the train in the morning iPod zombies fill the platforms, shuffling along and slowing me down, its a constant problem which is hugely annoying. And its not just the train stations either, the streets of London are filled with them too. They walk along at a snailspace, fiddling with their iPods or phones, without any awareness of the world around them. My policy now is to give a shoulder barge to anyone who gets in my way if they are too engrossed in their iPod or phone. I know this might be a little agressive but its meant as a reminder that the world is spinning around them as they shuffle along in thier little cocoon. Being an iPod zombie is just another form of anti social behaviour. Personally, I always stand to one side if I need to find a new track or reply to a text message.
c’mon – they are called Podestrians! keep up people…