iPod Zombies: Serious Threat to Road Safety

Before you say that this is the title to a bad horror movie, think again. “iPod Zombies” are real-live people who walk in a trance-like state, their iPods on their hips, earphones practically glued to their ears – and they have been identified by the U.K. Automobile Association (AA) as a threat on British roads.

iPod deaths According to a feature on PCWorld, Britain is fast becoming a nation of “iPod Zombies,” to the detriment of road safety. In a study conducted by the driving association AA, it was determined that there has been an increase in the number of pedestrians who use MP3 players while crossing, making them practically unaware of what is going on around them.

This is certainly no surprise. With the proliferation of gadgets in the market, and new ones popping up like weeds every so often, it is difficult for consumers not to get hooked on the craze. And if you buy a gadget worth a couple of hundred dollars or so, by golly, then one has to use it, and sometimes, people neglect to set when to draw the line.

It is to this iPod explosion that the AA attributes the following road statistics: 17 vehicle collisions a day, and 500 pedestrian deaths & 26,887 pedestrian injuries annually. iPod use may not be responsible for all of them, but it certainly contributes to these numbers.

Edmund King, president of The AA, said: “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’.”