Pedestrians risking death

Media spokesperson for vehicle insurer AAMI Mike Sopinski said their research shows two in three pedestrians admit to jaywalking. This comes as 200 pedestrians were killed on the roads around the nation last year.

"I see it all the time... pedestrians stepping out into traffic in their own little world with their MP3 players and mobile phones in their ears," he said. "What I'm concerned about here is that we have a great number of noiseless electric vehicles about to hit our roads. It's a recipe for a growing number of pedestrian deaths."

The AAMI online research of 2818 Australians also found that one-quarter (26 per cent) of drivers consider pedestrians to be a hazard when driving and 93 per cent say they always look out for pedestrians and drive more cautiously in areas with high pedestrian activity.

"Alarmingly, more than half of the drivers surveyed (51 per cent) said that pedestrians who engaged in dangerous activities like jaywalking were to blame if they were hit by a car," he said. "Drivers need to be conscious of all road users, not just other cars. Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable groups on our roads, as they have no protection if they are involved in a motor vehicle accident."

This latest research comes as car manufacturers are introducing bonnet crash protection that reduces injury to pedestrians, not just the vehicle occupants. Among these safety features are bonnets that deflect pedestrians on impact and even a Volvo system that detects pedestrians and automatically stops the car.

• Pedestrian deaths in 2009 - 200 national
  (40 QLD, 62 NSW, 50 VIC, 27 WA, 9 SA, 7 NT, 3 TAS, 2 ACT)
• Jaywalkers - 67% national
  (66% QLD, 68% NSW & VIC, 64% WA, 66% SA, 72% NT, 67% TAS, 66% ACT)
• Pedestrians are a hazard - 26% national
  (28% QLD, 28% NSW, 24% VIC, 27% WA, 25% SA, 21% NT, 23% TAS, 19% ACT)
• Pedestrians are to blame if hit - 51% national
  (53% QLD, 49% NSW, 53% VIC, 52% WA, 48% SA, 51% NT, 53% TAS, 49% ACT)
• Watch for pedestrians - 93% national
  (93% QLD & VIC, 92%, NSW and WA, 95% SA & TAS, 98% NT, 91% ACT)
• Drive cautiously in pedestrian area - 93% national
  (93% QLD, VIC & WA, 91% NSW, 95% SA, 98% NT, 97% TAS, 84% ACT)