Seems I'm not the only one that thinks that

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6936280.ece

What a load of crap.

its fine if your on your todd but when your with other folk that have head phones in it really grinds my gears. maybe they just dont want to talk to me? meh…..

If I ran a junction or pulled out in front of a car with my headphones on then i deserve to be run over, it's my own fault. I seldom ride in rush hour town traffic, but use headphones at all other times on my bike.

Cyclists who rush lights and don't look over their shoulders when pulling out are going to get run over, headphones or no headphones. I can't hear traffic approaching when in my car, why should I feel disadvantaged by wearing headphones on my bike?

I tend to agree with The Times. What is it with people nowadays that they need non stop music pumped into their brains?

listen all the time when riding 😀

(out on my own riding off-road)
not stupid enough to do it on the road, to many idiot car/lorry drivers out there

I prefer the tinny sound of music through my mobile phone's loudspeaker, so that everyone else can hear it too.

Especially when I'm on the bus…

i agree with richmars .riding off road part of the experience is natural sounds birds animals wind etc etc .

couldn't evan finish that article it was so daft

– when I wear headphones I can still hear traffic just fine
– are deaf people banned from cycling?
-is loud music, engine noise banned in cars?
– the accidents described in the article have nothing to do with headphones

Another said that “iPod zombies are a menace. I saw a bus clip one of them the other day in Victoria who was oblivious to anything around him.”

isn't this the bus drivers fault? What am I supposed to do when I hear a bus or car approaching from behind – dive into the curb for my own safety? Or keep riding in a straight line , maintaing my position in the road and looking over my shoulder before doing anything like pulling out? Like I would do anyway headphones or not?

I commute into Central London (N1) most days wearing phones .. I've never felt one bit less aware or robbed of spacial awareness with em in – Mind you there's so much traffic noise in general and so many cars around me that I always expect cars to be everywhere at any time.

My sister cycles everywhere and is deaf – is she a moron?

I do feel a bit disconnected and less aware wearing headphones – but the article is yet another attempt to lay the blame for all the cycling injuries and deaths purely at the door of the cyclists. Never a mention of dangerous or aggressive driving contributing.

I prefer the click of a nice freewheel ,music to my ears

are cars allowed to have radios, are car drivers allowed to use phones, are cars allowed to have screaming kids in the back, are car drivers on licence? the answer to all is yes, but there seems to be this idea that you have a right to drive and that rather than pay attention and ensure that your actions do not kill someone else, it is the role of everyone else to keep out of the way of drivers. and it is the person hit by the car that is at fault for getting hit.

Obviously she needs to be wearing a helmet 😉

Apart from that, i wear earphones all the time but i'm also very aware of whats around me at all times. As said previous, its just the same as having your radio on in the car. The article also mentions cycling on a pavement, boris johnson having a 'zero tolerance stance', yet the next paragraph he's giving 'greater leeway to encourage cyclists'. Its full off errors that have nothing to do with wearing earphones but more to do with commuters not giving a dam,

Glad he aint seen this video, especially near miss with cop car at 1:28

london race

I'm a moron then.

Silly article.
What's dangerous is people not paying proper attention to what's around them – this can apply to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – with music/headphones or without.
Also, sometimes people put too much reliance on what they can hear – you often can't hear a bicycle approaching, so your hearing is never a substitute for checking around you.
(Although, I did get TWO pedestrians walk into my bike this week – they were crossing the road without looking, and didn't hear me shouting at them! I stopped, obviously…)

There's a line in that article says it all. Says something about what do cyclists expect drivers to do – give way to them all the time… Well yes actually, seeing as that's what the rules say.

adey205 – Member
listen all the time when riding

(out on my own riding off-road)
not stupid enough to do it on the road, to many idiot car/lorry drivers out there

+1 but not all the time off road, only on my solo training rides

I have tried music while off roading. I had no recollection of any of it. Dint bother again.

yep got to agree with all you idiots on here always has to be the other persons fault "he or she should be looking out for me in my dumb ass could not give a **** world"
We do not stop deaf people from what ever they want to do could use the same reasoning to keep stupid inward think twits off internet forums

Yup, long road training rides (3 hours+, solo, quiet country roads) tend to be much more tolerable with a bit of music. I have it low enough that I can still hear cars, but as grievoustim says, I don't actually change what I do if I hear a car – I carry on riding in a straight line and always look behind before pulling out.

If I was riding in busy traffic I wouldn't have music on – but hey, that's my choice.

People who post unproveable sweeping generalisations on the internet are morons… 🙂

Being deaf and listening to music are not the same thing. Listening to music is a distraction being deaf is not distracting.

Listening to the wireless or them new fangled ear-pods probably isnt the best idea, as it must rob you of a bit of your hearing, but I wouldn't call any one a moron for it.
As some have said, where would that leave deaf cyclists ( or deaf drivers- should they also be banned?)
Most cars are well sound insulated and nearly all are sold with distracting devices. I've seen more near accidents caused by someone fiddling with the radio dial than cyclists with headphones.

You are distracted in a car in city traffic you potentially have a bump, you kill a cyclist or pedestrian.Your distracted on a bike in traffic your potentially dead!

I have a pisspot with built in speakers 😀
Music tbh could be louder with my existing mp3 though.
Can hear road noise fine and great for solidary rides.

the "its distracting" argument is fine – but you have to then extend the logic to say no music, conversation, sat nav etc in cars

you either accept that people are capable of controling a vehicle (any vehicle) whilst listening to music, or you think that anyone is a moron for having music on (in a car/ bike / whatever)

Ed2001, if you're distracted in a car your 'bump' could equally kill a pedestrian or cyclist

It's not the distraction that bothers me, as said most things can be distracting it's the effect on you as a road user. Your distracted in a car, chances are your going to cause a problem for someone else, your distracted on a bike your going to be the one in trouble. Listening to the radio in my car in traffic is unlikely to increase my chances of dying ( accident maybe, dying no) listening to music on a bike in traffic is.

that article is nonsense, purely inflamatory jumping on the anti-cyclist prejudiced bandwagon

I hit a pedestrian the other day who walked out infront of me because he was more bothered about not spilling his coffee than checking the road.
every day I have people walk out in front of me because they're on the phone, or listening to music or just not looking – I'm sure I'm not the only person this happens to but do we see articles in the press about 'zombie pedestrians'? – no

Your distracted in a car, chances are your going to cause a problem for someone else

Especially the truck who's path you have just moved into and is now gonna ram your sorry dead ass

The latest DfT figures show that 820 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in the three months to June, a 19% rise on the same period in 2008. It is not known how many of these cases were caused by people listening to music because the DfT and the police do not record the information

Maybe cloud patterns are responsible, or the recent increase in mole hills?

I always listen to music while I ride on the road, and often off road..
Always have it a level that I can hear the traffic tho.. But there's nowt like a decent bit of DnB to get yer legs going..

I can't stand listening to music while I'm riding! Total distraction. Most races now ban use of headphones for that very reason. Having it on in that car is somehow different (can't really explain how though…) and in general if I have music on it's because I'm actually properly listening to it.

It seems to have become a bit of a trend that whenever anyone goes somewhere they *have* to have music on. Far and away the worst culprits are pedestrians, the vast majority who step out in front of me are either listening to music or face down looking at a mobile phone.

Put the f***ing gadget away!

Ridden with music for years . Walkmans were always tricky to change the tapes while riding, especially the cheap ones without auto reverse – remember that exotic feature ! Lifes so much easier with MP3's on shuffle !

Even do races with it, suprising how much more relaxed it feels.Best result I think was a 6th at a round of the BC 100k enduro series. Oh and Merida's fly by with some good tunes !

Bet that'll wind (or rewind)some of you up !!

the article was poorly written showed no balance and it would have been funny if it wasn't sad when the journalist quoted an unknown blogger

Another said that “iPod zombies are a menace. I saw a bus clip one of them the other day in Victoria who was oblivious to anything around him.”

sadly the article seemed to be using the death of a 17yr old girl to develop a rant about cyclists rather than the serious issue that a 17yr old girl lost her life because she failed to judge correctly at a junction

the use of the phrase "studying the possibility of allowing cyclists to shoot red lights on left turns" confirms the lack of balance is deliberate rather than ignorant – it should say "filter"

the article didn't belong on a news page

incidentally the biggest danger i experience from ipods is pedestrians stepping off the pavement "unexpectedly" (not) on main road thru local shops and lack of understanding from car drivers that i'm riding a metre out because this is the safe thing to do – yes i can hear your engine revving
but no i can't hear the car or truck that cuts me up at 50-60mph on the main roads when i'm out of town

I commute whilst wearing earphones (and without a helmet!) some of the time, with music on quiet (level 8 out of a possible 40). Often I actually hear better, because the earphones cut out the wind noise. In the winter I wear a hat or buff to cover my ears and keep them toasty warm, should hats be banned too?

In the summer early mornings (about 2am), I occasionally go out on the road with my li'l ol' MP3 player. Pitch black, full lights and able to see cars hundreds of yards away …. academic, of course, as I usually see about 2 in 3 hours.

Sometimes have my MP3 off-road as well, when on my own.

I personally find it bad enough if I walk on the street with music on and would never ride on the road with headphones on. But neither would I ever drive with headphones on. I just feel my senses are distracted too much and I wouldn't be able to hear sirens etc.

I accept however that it's down to your own judgement whether listening to loud music through earphones compromises your awareness of your surroundings or not. I certainly can't listen to music (properly listen – slightly different if it's just background music) and concentrate on my surroundings at a sufficient level for me to feel safe on the road!

Yup, long road training rides (3 hours+, solo, quiet country roads) tend to be much more tolerable with a bit of music. I have it low enough that I can still hear cars, but as grievoustim says, I don't actually change what I do if I hear a car – I carry on riding in a straight line and always look behind before pulling out.

+1

I go out training after work (usually) solo twice a week after work, and once again on Saturday for 2.5 – 3.5 hrs. If I wasn't listening to an iPod, I'd go mad.

I am WELL aware of what's going on around me. As far as I can tell, the only time loud music has me at a disadvantage is if some motorist is going to stuff me from behind. And, frankly, if I'm going to get stuffed from behind, there's not a lot I can do about it, iPod or no iPod.

Never listen to music off-road, though.

Good timing – I've just been considering whether or not I should take to wearing headphones on my commute. I've begun to realise that noise is a very poor indicator of what's going on around me (either that or I'm going deaf). Some nice dance music while out training on the road bike would help while the time away too.