According to a recent study from The University of Maryland, about 0.3 percent of the 48,000 pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. from 2000 to 2009 were caused by pedestrians wearing headphones. Although these type of accidents has tripled in the last six years, researchers don’t believe that it’s an epidemic.
About 36,000 people were killed in pedestrian accidents in New York City and throughout the country during the study time. Researchers believe it’s a waste of time to focus on the 0.3 percent of accidents instead of looking at the other 99.7 percent of accidents to see what the real problem is — motorist and dangerous roadways.
Our New York City pedestrian accident attorneys have recently discussed the dangers that pedestrians face in our city. During the recent study, there were than 3,220 pedestrians killed on our state’s roadways. New York, Northern New Jersey and Long Island witnessed a large percentage of these pedestrian fatalities. It’s obvious in our city that headphones aren’t to blame for these accidents, but rather the design of our roadways and the habits of motorists.
The recent study, claiming that these type of accidents have tripled in recent years, has caught a lot of media attention. The media is portraying a picture that pedestrians are running through our streets listening to their music with little to no regard for vehicular traffic. That’s not true. In fact, more than 97 percent of pedestrian fatalities are happen when pedestrians are victims of irresponsible drivers and poorly-designed roads.
Like Transportation For America says, it’s like seeing a man who has been stabbed in the chest and attempting to cover up a scratch on his elbow with a Band-Aid. It makes no sense to focus on such an insignificant problem when we’ve got tens of thousands dying every year due to other causes.
Yes, we recognize that traveling while engaging in distractions is never a good idea. But don’t you think it’s more important to focus on the distracted drivers who are causing a majority of these accidents?
From 2000 to 2009, there were nearly 48,000 pedestrians killed while walking along U.S. roads. Fewer than 120 of these fatalities were the result of distractions such as headphones.
The recent study didn’t prove anything. It didn’t let us know that you’re more at risk for a pedestrian accident if you’re walking and listening to headphones. It simply told us that a tiny portion of these accidents happen this way. You might as well do a study on how many pedestrians were killed while walking and chewing gum. The conclusion there would be just as wasteful.
What we do take from this study is that a large majority, more than 97 percent, of pedestrian accidents occur on busy, federally funded roadways with little attention from motorists.
The pedestrian accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC offer free consultations to those who have been the victim of a car-pedestrian accident in Brooklyn, Manhattan and elsewhere throughout the New York City area. Call 1-877-313-7673 to speak with someone about your case and to discuss your rights.
Additional Resources:
Pedestrian deaths, blaming the victim: headphones edition, by Stephen Lee Davis, Transportation For America
More Blog Entries:
Fatal New York Car Accidents Down; Still Too Many Deaths, New York Injury Lawyer Blog, February 6, 2012
