Music is beautiful. The IPod is such a fantastic thing, enabling you to listen to music when you want to at any time and at any place. I love the IPod. However, one day, I was nearly knocked down by a bicycle but fortunately for me, the cyclist swerved onto the grass patch beside the pavement I was walking on. That gave me a real shock.
These incidents where pedestrians and drivers alike use their cellphone and music players on the road are very commonplace in Singapore. However, I feel that listening to music or using cellphones on the road is an extremely irresponsible act that can lead to unthinkable consequences, and hence should not be encouraged in any circumstance. I will show that such acts will not only endanger oneself to potential accident, but also render oneself as a danger hazard on the road, thus being a very inconsiderate and irresponsible act.
Firstly, I will talk about how the above act can endanger oneself to a potential accident. According to a finding by the RAC foundation, a British non-profit organization, sending text messages on the cellphone while driving reduces the driver’s reaction by a huge 35%. Security guards, whose job requires a high level of alertness, are also not encouraged to use cellphones or listen to music during work. Furthermore, the USA Track and Field, America’s national governing body for all track and field events, even barred runners from using headphones or audio players during a race. We can see that this is a very concerning issue that cannot be neglected. Even in a race, where there is an unobstructed path, precautions are even taken to prevent any accidents, lest youngsters on a busy road where the oncoming traffic is largely unpredictable. Hence, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is definitely not encouraged.
A possible counter-argument to rebut my stand is that it is a youngsters’ free choice to do anything they want on the road, and that any accident is their own responsibility. But consider this, a youngster who is oblivious to the surroundings can obstruct traffic and cause accidents to happen. A “How alert are you?” test was conducted by the Straits Times on 60 people spotted sending text messaged or listening to music on the streets. Reporters deliberately either walked into them or rang a bicycle bell behind them. The results were that many of the people tested were not aware of the oncoming traffic and continued walking the same way, while some only realized at the last moment and swerved just in time to let the traffic past them. This survey show that when a person does acts of listening to music or using their cellphones on the road, they pose a potential hazard to oncoming traffic, especially cyclist who also use the pavements and may not be able to dodge in time due to their fast speed. Hence, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is definitely not supported at all as it may lead to accidents.
Lastly, such acts are also very irresponsible to members of the public. One must remember that the road does not belong to oneself, rather it is a public facility that caters to all the commuters. Although some people may say it is merely a form of entertainment on the long journey home, one must consider how the other commuters fell and be considerate. I encountered one such incident on the way home. I saw a youngster, who was listening to his IPod, jaywalk across the road where there was quite heavy traffic. At that moment, the car just appeared from the corner of the road, and the driver, fortunately for the youngster, stepped on his brakes instantly, avoiding the youngster by a few centimeters. The youngsters turned around and looked shocked and spewed some vulgarities at the driver. Instead, should the youngster take the blame instead? He was inconsiderate and should be thankful the driver did not drive right into him. Hence, we can see that he was being very inconsiderate by listening to his IPod and did not care about other road-users.
In conclusion, listening to music or using cellphones on the road is an irresponsible act that may lead to unthinkable consequences and hence should be opposed against. Maybe those listening to their IPod should do some self-reflection and stop being so self-centered. Caring about others on the road can definitely make a huge difference to the pedestrians’ safety and can help save lives, so why not start now?
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