La policia australiana fa una campanya de seguretat vial en contra de l'ús dels iPod
Les autoritats australianes s'alarmen a causa del gran nombre d'accidents causats per la distracció dels vianants
La policia de Sidney, a Austràlia, ha posat en marxa una campanya publicitària que busca fer conscients als vianants del perill de creuar el carrer escoltant un reproductor d'mp3. Segons les autoritats, ja hi ha hagut moltes morts a causa de la distracció dels vianants. La campanya, que l'ha feta l'agència DDB Sidney, consta de cartells que mostren joves morts a la carretera amb un iPod a la mà i envoltats pel cable blanc dels auriculars (foto).

El superintendent de Trànsit australià John Hartley ja va dir, fa prop d'un any, que estudiarien l'impacte d'una proposició del senador de Nova York Carl Kruger que volia prohibir l'ús de reproductors de música i de telèfons mòbils quan es creués el carrer. John Hartley va dir llavors que no es podia 'legislar l'estupidesa' però que caldria tenir en compte l'impacte de la proposta durant els següents dotze mesos.

                             
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Alert sounded on iPod use

THE makers of the iPod should be responsible for warning users of the dangers of using the music player while crossing roads, the Pedestrian Council of Australia says.

A state senator from New York has proposed a law banning people from crossing the street while using such gadgets as iPods and mobile phones.

But NSW police warned against legislating for "stupidity".

In New York, Senator Carl Kruger said pedestrians could not be fully aware of their surroundings if they were "fiddling with a BlackBerry, dialling a phone number, playing Super Mario Bros. on a Game Boy, or listening to music on an iPod". Those who flouted the ban should be fined $US100 ($130).

While he did not give any statistical evidence to support his claim, he cited the death last month of a 23-year-old man from Brooklyn who was struck by a bus while listening to his iPod.

The Pedestrian Council's chairman, Harold Scruby, doubted such a law would be enforceable in Australia, but said gadget makers had a responsibility to warn of the dangers of using their products while crossing roads.

Mr Scruby said he had not seen any studies linking iPod use to pedestrian injuries, ``but anecdotally it's obvious, and we should be doing something about it''.

But the State Traffic Commander, Chief Superintendent John Hartley, said: "You can't legislate stupidity - if people are stupid enough to do something that's so distracting they can't see cars coming, that's a problem they need to deal with."

Nonetheless, Superintendent Hartley said the NSW police would look at the New York senator's proposal and the "impact it may have in twelve months' time".

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the way it kept its records meant it was impossible to determine if any recent pedestrian deaths resulted from iPod use.

The records went only as deep as deaths from "pedestrian distraction".

David Rogers, after crossing Pitt Street at Martin Place while listening to an iPod, said that he thought the legislation was "probably a good idea".

"It's probably a sound concept, but perhaps the punishment is pretty extreme," the 22-year-old said.

The iPod is by far the most popular music player in the world. Apple controls over 70 per cent of the worldwide digital music player market, and said it had sold 68 million units since 2001.