Earphone menace: Girl run over by bus

New Delhi, Nov 26: A 21-year-old girl, Priya Jain died on Wednesday after being hit by a bike and then a bus while she was crossing the busy Vikas Marg road.

Police informed that the tragedy struck her while crossing the road with earphones plugged in. She was on the way to work.

Dr M C Misra, Chief, AIIMS Trauma Centre pointed out that around 50% of pedestrian deaths in road accidents occurred due to the use of hand-held devices while crossing roads.

"Listening to music or talking on the phone while crossing the road is dangerous. It diverts attention and causes a hearing deficit. The pedestrian is often not able to comprehend warning signals like honking or someone simply crying out," he said.

Accidents caused to pedestrians over plugging in headphones while walking had led US legislators to ban the use of such devices.

Dr J D Mukherjee, neurologist at Max Hospital, Saket claimed that people who are talking on the phone while walking or listening to music are unable to respond to an emergency situation.

Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Traffic Police said that prosecution is not the way out and "the number of pedestrians is huge. It's not practical to catch every violator and prosecute. In my view, awareness campaigns to promote judicious use of cellphones and other devices is needed. The traffic police is working on these lines."

"While listening to music like this, one feels cut off from the bustle. It's relaxing and soothing," says Fatima Akram, a BA Psychology (Hons) student at Jamia Milia Islamia University.

Akhil Kumar, a student of Amity University said that he listens to music while walking on the road but keeps the volume low. "Twice I landed right in front of heavy vehicles. Since then, I have become more alert," he said.

OneIndia News