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back to article Mobile phones - fighting cancer, causing car crashes

New research has shown that people who receive text messages reminding them to use sunscreen are more likely to use sunscreen. However, worrying results from a separate study implies that this positive effect could be negated by an increased likelihood of you being hit by a car. Research from the University of California has …

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  1. John Robson Silver badge
    WTF?

    podestrians

    "Music-listeners were able to navigate traffic as well as the average unencumbered pedestrian"

    "Talking on a cell was in fact a distraction, while trying to cross the street but that listening to an iPod was not."

    Err, not around here - especially not if that traffic is quiet (yes I cycle alot)

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It won't last...

    "people who received daily text messages reminding them to apply sunscreen were nearly twice as likely to apply it as those who did not receive such messages"

    ...Until the person is bombarded with lots of different messages and just deletes the whole d**n lot. Followed by binning the device.

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  3. Ihre Papiere Bitte!!

    Huh? Waitaminnit...

    "Talking on a cell was in fact a distraction, while trying to cross the street but that listening to an iPod was not."

    Does that mean that using a generic mp3 player will put me more or less at risk than an iDrone / Podestrian??

    Sounds like product placement to me. "And now a message from our sponsors...."

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    MP3 genre?

    I would hazard a guess that listening to a detailed talk programme, e.g. on politics or a documentary (or maybe even an audio-book) on an mp3 player is probably significantly more distracting than listening to familiar music on the same player - because of the concentration aspect. This sort of mp3 listening probably approaches the hazard-level of a phone conversation... although you can of course pause an mp3 podcast.

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