Cyclists wearing big Headphones. Safe or Not?

Generic Dreadhead

Surely this is impeding their ability to be completely aware of whats happening around them?

This thread isn't just a "Have a go at Cyclists" thread, but I saw one wearing big, over the ear, headphones today and just thought it was pretty poor judgement when driving in/around Cork City (maybe in a rural area it might be more acceptable depending on the road/area).

I remember being told off for using headphones when I 1st started driving and rightly so, it's not the same as haven the radio on, it's more immersive and allows you to hear less around you.

Micilin Muc

It's unsafe. Worse than motorists who wear earphones too.

snubbleste

Deaf cyclists. Safe or not?

Yer Aul One

Quiet hybrid engines. Safe or not?

Sheldons Brain

The conduct of cyclists is rarely safe in any case.

danrua01

Same with drivers with earphones in..

jimgoose

Anyone who effectively disables one of the major senses while out on a public road - pedestrian, cyclist or motorist of any sort - is barking mad as far as I'm concerned.

wazky

Cyclists with no legs, safe or not?

Generic Dreadhead

jimgoose wrote: »

Anyone who effectively disables one of the major senses while out on a public road - pedestrian,

I'd have to disagree with the Pedestrian one as they have dedicated lanes (footpaths) where they are not competing with 2 tonne weights propelling at them at 60kph.

discus

Leggs nightclub with headphones, safe or not?

theenergy

safe...depending on the cyclist.

some cyclist do be in a world of their own with the music on...

Jawgap

How much can motorcyclists hear with a lid on and visor down?

......or a driver in car with the choooones blasting out?

Personally, if I was cycling around Cork city I'd want to isolate myself as much as possible from the 'experience'

tobsey

Micilin Muc wrote: »

It's unsafe. Worse than motorists who wear earphones too.

danrua01 wrote: »

Same with drivers with earphones in..

I have earphones in all the time when driving because I use them as a hands free kit. There's never anything playing. The only thing that you need your ears for when driving are sirens, and usually if you keep you're eyes open you will see the flashing lights anyway.

danrua01

tobsey wrote: »

I have earphones in all the time when driving because I use them as a hands free kit. There's never anything playing. The only thing that you need your ears for when driving are sirens, and usually if you keep you're eyes open you will see the flashing lights anyway.

Not necessarily, the ambulance could be coming right round a corner behind you. If you only see the lights before hearing the siren you could cause a blockage. Furthermore, you need your hearing for potential danger.

steamengine

theenergy wrote: »

safe...depending on the cyclist.

some cyclist do be in a world of their own with the music on...

Gee - was that a set of pearly gates I just passed ? :-(

Micilin Muc

tobsey wrote: »

I have earphones in all the time when driving because I use them as a hands free kit.

Isn't that illegal?!

wazky

danrua01 wrote: »

Not necessarily, the ambulance could be coming right round a corner behind you. If you only see the lights before hearing the siren you could cause a blockage. Furthermore, you need your hearing for potential danger.

How do deaf drivers get on then?

Gran Hermano

Maybe the headphones could incorporate some lights and be constructed from hi-vis material.

danrua01

wazky wrote: »

How do deaf drivers get on then?

Irish and EU legislation requires that a driver should advise their driver licensing authority of any long-term or permanent injury or illness that may affect their safe driving ability.

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

Chips Lovell

I find it safer wearing headphones. It's harder to steer if I'm carrying a ghetto blaster on my shoulder.

Zulu

Maybe the headphones were connected to a device that amplifies the sounds of the environment surrounding the cyclist. Did you ever think of that?

gozunda

Hearing might not be the only issue ....

Mycroft H

danrua01 wrote: »

Not necessarily, the ambulance could be coming right round a corner behind you. If you only see the lights before hearing the siren you could cause a blockage. Furthermore, you need your hearing for potential danger.

I've things called mirrors. I can move safely out the way as soon as I see hazards.

I've a thing called a neck, my head attaches to it, it also let's me see what's around me.

snubbleste

Mycroft H wrote: »

I've things called mirrors. I can move safely out the way as soon as I see hazards.
I've a thing called a neck, my head attaches to it, it also let's me see what's around me.

You do have some neck

purplepanda

My brother goes cycling & running for hours on end with headphones on, he's a long distance triathlete so clocks up many miles.

Now he's going deaf, I'm convinced it's to do with wearing headphones for decades but he's in denial when I tell he should get his hearing checked.

He's now almost shouting instead of taking, and can't hear me speaking from behind or to the side of him. Only when I'm directly facing him.

rainbow kirby

I wouldn't wear headphones while cycling at all - you need all your wits about you with the amount of absolute muppets on the road, I wouldn't want an important sense dulled!

Chance The Rapper

Something under the floorboards, safe or not ?

jimgoose

Cormac... wrote: »

I'd have to disagree with the Pedestrian one as they have dedicated lanes (footpaths) where they are not competing with 2 tonne weights propelling at them at 60kph.

They sure are competing with the behemoths when crossing the carriageway though!

Caliden

A cyclist/motorist thread in AH?

Yea.....this is going to be constructive.....

Larianne

Jawgap wrote: »

How much can motorcyclists hear with a lid on and visor down?

......or a driver in car with the choooones blasting out?

Personally, if I was cycling around Cork city I'd want to isolate myself as much as possible from the 'experience'

Both have mirrors.

Captain Flaps

As a cyclist, I don't feel safe with headphones in.

As a motorist, I don't like seeing cyclists with headphones in because I know the feeling and I squirm a little bit.

The guys/gals who eschew the helmet in favour of a massive set of Beats headphones are the worst though... those things sound like ****e.

Jawgap

Larianne wrote: »

Both have mirrors.

That's right.......and people use them all the time.......don't they?

So if I stick mirrors on my bike, there'll be no objection to me wearing headphones?

Incidentally, I've noticed that getting married had a bigger impact on my hearing than any headphones ever had - I've developed a very selective form of deafness:pac:

hoodwinked

Zulu wrote: »

Maybe the headphones were connected to a device that amplifies the sounds of the environment surrounding the cyclist. Did you ever think of that?

thats not that safe really? what if a truck is passing close to them? or a truck/car/bus blasts their horn, it's going to deafen them and cause them to suddenly react erratically...

wazky

danrua01 wrote: »

Irish and EU legislation requires that a driver should advise their driver licensing authority of any long-term or permanent injury or illness that may affect their safe driving ability.

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

So my question still stands, how do deaf drivers do it?

Letting the licensing authority know of your impairment is not going to make a difference in the scenario you constructed earlier on.

Zulu

hoodwinked wrote: »

thats not that safe really? what if a truck is passing close to them? or a truck/car/bus blasts their horn, it's going to deafen them and cause them to suddenly react erratically...

Well, I didn't think of that.

What if they are actually partially deaf, and require the device to amplify the environmental sound to normal levels? Like a fancy hearing aid.

danrua01

wazky wrote: »

So my question still stands, how do deaf drivers do it?

Letting the licensing authority know of your impairment is not going to make a difference in the scenario you constructed earlier on.

I'm not in the position to tell you how they do it, but I'm sure if I was in that position I'd make sure I had some sort of hearing aid...

czechlin

I think it's unsafe. I hate seeing it. Cyclists with headphones and no helmets are IMO mad.

laraghrider

So the title thread is cyclists wearing big headphones. Safe or not? So define big. I'm assuming then small headphones are ok? Even in ear noise cancelling headphones as long as they aren't big?

RoboRat

I cycle with one earphone in and the music quite low as doing a 80km cycle on your todd can get quite boring. The music doesn't affect my hearing and I can still hear cars approaching no different than if there was no music.

For Forks Sake

purplepanda wrote: »

My brother goes cycling & running for hours on end with headphones on, he's a long distance triathlete so clocks up many miles.

Now he's going deaf, I'm convinced it's to do with wearing headphones for decades but he's in denial when I tell he should get his hearing checked.

He's now almost shouting instead of taking, and can't hear me speaking from behind or to the side of him. Only when I'm directly facing him.

WHAT?? SPEAK UP PLEASE!

rubadub

czechlin wrote: »

I think it's unsafe. I hate seeing it. Cyclists with headphones and no helmets are IMO mad.

Have you ever cycled without a helmet? if so do you consider yourself mad?

Ask your parents or grand parents if they ever cycled without a helmet.

Do you think people going out drinking without helmets are mad, logic would say you would, as its a far more risky business.

czechlin

rubadub wrote: »

Have you ever cycled without a helmet? if so do you consider yourself mad?

Ask your parents or grand parents if they ever cycled without a helmet.

Do you think people going out drinking without helmets are mad, logic would say you would, as its a far more risky business.

Seeing cyclists swinging among cars in a busy traffic with headphones on (which prevents to wear a helmet) is unsafe. It's my opinion and I don't need to justify it. If you don't like it, that's fine.

danrua01

rubadub wrote: »

Do you think people going out drinking without helmets are mad, logic would say you would, as its a far more risky business.

You can definitely get knocked over by a bus in the pub.

Cabaal

Its unsafe,
But then its unsafe as a motorists listening to loud music as well (stereo turned up)

mal1

It means nothing to say that it is unsafe. It's not as safe as cycling without headphones. But we all live with risk to some degree, it's just a case of how we manage it and act to mitigate it. So it's basically down to the person on the bike. There's not much more to be said about the subject.

RoboRat

danrua01 wrote: »

You can definitely get knocked over by a bus in the pub.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/pictures-and-video-double-decker-bus-1217163

danrua01

I knew it! Is nowhere safe...

rubadub

czechlin wrote: »

It's my opinion and I don't need to justify it.

Yeah, you'd have a fucking hard time trying to.

I love exposing the mad irrationality and hypocrisy that cycling helmets brings out in people. Worrying to think such people might be behind the wheel of a car though...

gandalf

Anyone who willingly removes one of their main senses when riding something as vulnerable to other traffic as a bicycle is not the full shilling from my point of view.

czechlin

rubadub wrote: »

Yeah, you'd have a fucking hard time trying to.

I love exposing the mad irrationality and hypocrisy that cycling helmets brings out in people. Worrying to think such people might be behind the wheel of a car though...

Wow, I obviously stepped on somebody's toe.
I had a bad accident on a bike and I was glad I wore a helmet. It's the same when I had a really bad accident on rollerblades where I was extremely glad I wore the knee and hand protectors because my kneecap would be gone otherwise. My opinion is down to my own experience.
It's obviously your soft spot, I'm no keyboard warrior and I'm not interested in arguments.

And just for the record, when I drive I take everyone into consideration.

No Pants

Woohoo! It's Groundhog Day!