A lot of people use their headphones when traveling around on foot. Many like to listen to music or podcasts to pass the time when repeating the same route. Runners often play up-tempo music through their headphones to keep them motivated and energized.
Is this a bad idea? Does it affect their safety?
Staying alert improves your safety
The more alert you are to what is happening around you, the less likely you are to be injured by a motor vehicle. That is not to say it’s your fault if a driver hits you while you have headphones on. Rather, if you had not been wearing headphones, you might have had a better chance of noticing the danger and taking avoiding action to protect your safety.
Motorists often do not pay attention
Driver distraction is a chronic problem. They get distracted by everything from their phone to their dog and from their satnav to their mug of morning coffee. Hence they can easily miss a pedestrian such as yourself.
On top of this, motorists often are not expecting to see pedestrians. Drivers can get so used to seeing other drivers that it takes them by surprise when anyone is traveling by foot. They expect everyone to be doing the same as them, and sitting inside a vehicle, so their brain concentrates on looking for vehicular traffic, rather than pedestrian traffic. Even if you are there all along, they may just stare right through you without noticing. It’s known as inattentional blindness.
If a driver injures you, they may use the fact you were wearing headphones to try and reduce their liability. Getting legal help to put the focus back on what the driver did wrong can reduce the chance they succeed.
