To wish these people would unplug themselves from their iPods and phones?

[Waltons]

Driving home this evening in a 30mph zone, doing just over 20mph because it is a steep hill, dark, wet evening, visibility very poor.

Some clown, plugged into his iPod, walks straight out into the road in front of me. He didn't look either way - just walked out. It isn't a crossing point, just a hidden footpath where the pavement is maybe 3 foot wide and meets the road. That gave me about 5-10 seconds notice. I managed to stop just in time and didn't hit him, although he fell over in shock and I had to leap out to check he was OK.

This has happened several times, sometimes in broad daylight - people just walking across roads or turnings in front of my car because they are glued to some bit of electronic stuff. Luckily I have been at driving very slowly on every occasion so far ...

AIBU? I have a mobile and an iPod but it does my heart no good every time this happens!

people with ipods in still have as much use of their eyes as they had before they plugged in... and i wouldn't think blind people should use them... but the rest of the population should just look before they cross the road, ipod or not

Am with you. Had run in today. bloke walked out in front of me merrily chatting away on his phone. Slammed on my breaks, hooted horn and he shouted at me for hooting. I was breathless as I had almost killed him.

Modern life is rubbish!

Over the holidays we had a young man so intent on texting, that he walked into dh's car and trip over. We were stationary at a red light for the crossing, the crossing 3 metres up from where the foot taunt ambles into our car

Interesting daft twunt on the iPhone of pedestrian death becomes foot taunt with auto correct

I hate cyclists with ipods in their ears. They're worse that pedestrians.

I always wonder how they can manage? I'd hate not to hear who's coming up near me when I'm on my bike.

I adore my ipod, cannot walk about alone without it, however, I've been like that since the 80's when I got my first walkman.

How old are these people? I always check the roads or wait for the appropriate facility to cross as your sense of awareness is lowered by listening to music. I find it shocking that there are thousands of people driving whilst they listen to their ipods through their earphones, surely that limits your awareness for police sirens and such like?

I treat pedestrians looking at their phones or wearing earpieces like I treat young children - with great care and on the assumption that they cannot be trusted to have the road sense of an adult.

Honey I reckon that's what these idiots are - taunts on foot. They seem to be in their teens or 20s, which isn't really surprising, although I did have a bloke who must have been in his 60s walk straight in front of my car once. He was absolutely welded to his mobile and shouting at the top of his voice at the poor beggar on the other end.

Yesterday was such a near miss that it really shook me - I woke up worrying about it in the middle of the night. Modern life is indeed rubbish!

I've got into the habit of taking at least one of my headphones out if I need to cross a road.

[goodie-two-shoes emoticon]

It is shocking though how close you can come to causing someone serious injury through their negligence.

I think Andrewofgg has the right idea. Treat them like children who don't understand the rules of the road. I know 3 people who've been hit because of gadgets - cousin was thrown into the road a few years ago because she was texting whilst crossing, thankfully only broke her arm. A friend was hit when both her and the driver were texting, and another friend walked into the side of a car stopped at lights giving the passengers a fright.
It isn't hard to leave it alone for two seconds!

Mummymccar Off topic but are you of Czech origin? I ask because Maminkar is the Czech for Mummy, used only by small children, and your nickname makes me think of it.

I don't understand cyclists wearing earphones. How can you be aware of all the traffice around you?

Arc de Triomphe in Paris = one of the most dangerous roundabouts in the world and yet in rush hour traffic I've seen cyclists with earphones in cycling round it! crazy

Bartimaeus

Really? It was the unicyclist carrying his sound system and a baguette that did it for me. I jest not.

It's quite high on my list of utterly insane events I've witnessed.