Officials connect headphone-wearing to accidents BY CONRAD SWANSON | JANUARY 19, 2012 7:20 AM

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Dean Krawczykowski crossed the street from the T. Anne Cleary Walkway in the typically frigid January weather with no coat on and Dr. Dre Beats headphones on his head, unafraid of the weather and cars.

"Music is more important than my life to me," the University of Iowa freshman said.

One expert, Richard Lichenstein, found that more pedestrian accidents are caused by distractions from headphones. Lichenstein’s study, released this week, showed the number of pedestrian/vehicle accidents in the last six years had tripled where pedestrians were distracted by headphones plugged into portable devices such as an iPod, phone, or MP3 player.

"This isn’t just a car/driver problem," said Lichenstein, a physician at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children. "It’s a problem for pedestrians who are distracted or impaired by their headphones."

According to data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, 266 pedestrian/vehicle accidents have occurred in the Iowa City/Coralville area over the last 10 years.

Of those 266 accidents, at least 11 have involved pedestrians who were distracted or inattentive. Michael Pawlovich, a traffic-safety/crash-data engineer for the department, was reluctant to say if the number was significant.

"It’s such a small number," he said. "It also could be that the Johnson County enforcement personnel didn’t fill in that detail in their reports,"

When compared with the 116 accidents in six years Lichenstein collected from across the nation, he said 11 accidents in an area over 10 years is a very significant number. Lichenstein said he thinks there were probably a lot more than 11 accidents involving distracted pedestrians, but often law enforcement fails to include that in reports.

Krawczykowski admits wearing headphones while crossing the street is dangerous, even recalling a time when he almost ran into a cyclist. Dr. Dre Beats headphones, he said, also block out more sounds than normal earbud-style headphones that come with the purchase of an iPod.

"I have headphones on, and I wouldn’t be paying attention if a car honked its horn," Krawczykowski said.

Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said wearing headphones isn’t only dangerous when crossing the street.

"I think it goes deeper than the accidents," he said. "When you’re not aware of your surroundings, you’re more likely to be hit. You’re not thinking of your safety, and you’re more likely to be a crime victim. Are you being as safe as you possibly can be?"

Hargadine recalled the a string of incidents that occurred in 2007 when a man, dubbed "the groper," repeatedly grabbed women in the areas near downtown. He said the majority of those victims were also distracted either by phones or headphones.

"My instincts tell me that it’s more the college-age group," Hargadine said. "Very rarely do you see someone my age ‘plugged in.’ "

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Officials connect headphone-wearing to accidents – The Daily Iowan

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