Hand held distractions put pedestrians in danger

Shocking statistics released by DriveSafe, Greater Manchester’s Casualty Reduction Partnership, highlight that the one of the biggest threats to pedestrian safety is their use of mobile phones and iPods.

The partnership’s annual casualty figures indicate that almost 90 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured on Rochdale’s roads between 2007 and 2009, with statistics from across Greater Manchester indicating that more than 50 per cent of the incidents occurred as a direct result of pedestrians not paying attention to the road.

In order to tackle the issue, DriveSafe has launched its latest initiative, ‘Don’t Live Your Life In A Bubble’, directly targeted at pedestrians.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of being distracted by hand held gadgets while on foot across the county’s roads and will be implemented in two stages.

Firstly, the partnership is inviting college students from across Greater Manchester to design a landing page, the design of which will also be used to create the campaign’s branding. The winning design will be transformed into a live landing page, with the designer also receiving their final artwork framed along with an annual travel card from System One.


The second element of the campaign will involve an innovative roadshow touring across the county in November, the details of which will be revealed at a later date.

Karen Delaney, communications manager at DriveSafe, said: “With these latest figures highlighting the severity of pedestrian injuries and fatalities, it’s essential that we tackle the problem head on.

“Technology is developing at such a rapid pace that people have just assimilated the use of iPods and mobile phones into their daily life, paying more attention to what they are reading on these devices than the world around them.

“We all know that we should look both ways before crossing the street but it is easy to forget if you’re reading messages on Facebook or listening to a track on your iPod. We would urge the residents of Greater Manchester to start putting basic road safety into practise and really think before reaching for their latest gadget.”


For terms and conditions or to enter the competition, visit the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dont-Live-Your-Life-in-a-Bubble/