iPhones and other gadgets are being blamed for a rise in road deaths and injuries in the UK, as the number of accidents caused by drivers 'failing to look' increased by 12 per cent within a decade.
New figures show 194,477 people - either drivers, pedestrians or passengers - were involved in a road accident last year, of which 1,775 were killed and 22,807 seriously injured.
This was an increase on the previous year, which saw 183,670 people injured in road accidents, the Daily Mail reported.
Edmund King, president of the AA, told the newspaper that the rise in "iPod and iPhone zombies" was contributing to the rise in accidents.
He said: "One thing we have been worried about is the rise of iPod zombies. These are pedestrians who have earplugs in or iPhones out.
"They are listening to music or texting and they are not concentrating on traffic."
He added that drivers were often becoming more relaxed at the wheel because cars were now easier to drive.
Despite the trend, the Department for Transport said the number of fatalities on the roads last year had fallen by 45 per cent compared to 2005.
The decrease was attributed to improvements in education and training, improvements in vehicle technology, highway engineering and road safety policies.
