Spare earplugs while crossing the road or be called a ‘Pappu’
6 Feb 2014 5:57 AM IST
In a campaign on road safety, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Safety has launched a ‘Pappu’ campaign to discourage the use of earphones for pedestrians as it is increasingly becoming a major reason for accidents.
‘Pappu can’t listen. Pappu is deaf,’ says the campaign video, while Pappu, an animated character, tries to cross the road. He is hit by a car in the middle of the road and dies.
The government agencies, however, don’t have any data to establish the relation between accidents caused due to earphones and gadgets, but rough estimates suggest has put the figure close to 30 per cent of the all the road accidents.
‘The road accidents due to use of electronic gadgets like mobile, earphones, iPod and touch screen systems are increasing alarmingly in the city,’ said a senior traffic police officer in Delhi. Among the major road accidents in Delhi due to earphones which were highlighted in the media are — Romeo Roy’s (20) accident in Malviya Nagar and Priya Jain’s (21) accident at Vikas Marg in 2012. These students had their earphones on and had lost their lives as they could not notice the vehicles approaching them.
Several such road and train accidents had also been reported in the NCR region. In a study by University of Maryland, USA in 2011, it was found that the fatal accident involving pedestrians wearing headphones have tripled since 2004. The study concluded that the use of headphones with hand-held devices, like iPods or cell phones, pose a safety risk to pedestrians.
According to the study, 116 persons lost their lives due to wearing headphones between 2004 and 2011 in Maryland out of which 68 per cent were male and 67 per cent were under the age of 30. In 55 per cent cases, the vehicle involved was a train.
‘Pappu can’t listen. Pappu is deaf,’ says the campaign video, while Pappu, an animated character, tries to cross the road. He is hit by a car in the middle of the road and dies.
The government agencies, however, don’t have any data to establish the relation between accidents caused due to earphones and gadgets, but rough estimates suggest has put the figure close to 30 per cent of the all the road accidents.
‘The road accidents due to use of electronic gadgets like mobile, earphones, iPod and touch screen systems are increasing alarmingly in the city,’ said a senior traffic police officer in Delhi. Among the major road accidents in Delhi due to earphones which were highlighted in the media are — Romeo Roy’s (20) accident in Malviya Nagar and Priya Jain’s (21) accident at Vikas Marg in 2012. These students had their earphones on and had lost their lives as they could not notice the vehicles approaching them.
Several such road and train accidents had also been reported in the NCR region. In a study by University of Maryland, USA in 2011, it was found that the fatal accident involving pedestrians wearing headphones have tripled since 2004. The study concluded that the use of headphones with hand-held devices, like iPods or cell phones, pose a safety risk to pedestrians.
According to the study, 116 persons lost their lives due to wearing headphones between 2004 and 2011 in Maryland out of which 68 per cent were male and 67 per cent were under the age of 30. In 55 per cent cases, the vehicle involved was a train.
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