Does listening to music pose a safety risk?

[ricky1980]

So we still have the situation where it is acceptable to be injuring a third party because by closing the windows you are not exercising the utter most diligence

that's not the point of this thread...however personally i think when you are in a car, it isn't going to massively help to have your window down and listen to outside noise. (the exception is if someone beep you then again how many people have loud enough horns on their bikes? bells are next to useless)

listening to music in a car isn't a sin...but i feel talking on phones/fidgeting with satnav/stereo/phones; texting and talking to passenger and not focusing on the road are all dangerous. these activities reduce the driver's awareness and perception of his/her surrounding and often the cause of in-town accidents especially with cyclists and motor cyclists. And just bad drivers who doesn't check mirror and blind spots before turning. Even seasoned black cab drivers do it in london. The number of times i had close shaves with Addison Lee and Black cabs will probably run into high double figures easily. Some addison lee drivers are out there to kill cyclists i think, very aggressive!

 

[ricky1980]

Sorry, but are you actually saying out is OK for drivers to limit their hearing and compromise the safety of other road users because of the car's safety features

A car driver misses an auditory input such as a voice, bicycle bell or other vehicle and causes an accident because they have decided to close their windows........but that is fine of the driver is protected?

nope what i am saying is the harm caused to a cyclist in an accident is more, therefore it puts the responsibility on the cyclist him/her self to be more diligent and to protect him/herself at the best he/she can. Again, i have the mentality that there will always be bad drivers on the road, therefore I consider each junction and each situation with the mind frame what's the worst can happen here. Without able to hear things on the road, i won't be able to know my surrounding as well therefore I am not doing my best. That's all...

 

[ricky1980]

Youra nidiot.

care to clarify?

 

[ufkacbln]

nope what i am saying is the harm caused to a cyclist in an accident is more, therefore it puts the responsibility on the cyclist him/her self to be more diligent and to protect him/herself at the best he/she can. Again, i have the mentality that there will always be bad drivers on the road, therefore I consider each junction and each situation with the mind frame what's the worst can happen here. Without able to hear things on the road, i won't be able to know my surrounding as well therefore I am not doing my best. That's all...

I doubt that being hit by a cyclist because they haven't heard me is any more likely than bring hit by.a car for the same reason

.... and I certainly do not believe a cyclist would cause more injury. Or harm

 

[gavintc]

Joined this late, but do you honestly hear much when on a bike? Personally, the wind over the ear prevents you hearing much. I wear one headphone when out on country roads - travelling at a reasonable speed, but when going slowly in town traffic, I tend not to wear them.

 

[ricky1980]

you would be surprise what u can hear. i ca. hear cars about 1 length or 2 behind me. soi know they are there.

anyway agree to disagree on the level of harm in an accident. but do you not think as a cyclist-a vulnerable road user, you should take maximum measures to ensure your own safety?!

 

[Dan B]

anyway agree to disagree on the level of harm in an accident. but do you not think as a cyclist-a vulnerable road user, you should take maximum measures to ensure your own safety?!

If the onus is on me as a vulnerable road user to make myself maximally invulnerable, the only logical conclusion is that I should be in a car, not on a bike - anything else is not a maximum measure

Except that in a collision with an SUV, I'll still come off worse - so perhaps I should buy a Land Rover.

Or maybe I should go straight to a tank. Fuel economy's not that good, though.

Can you say "arms race"? Where do you draw the line? Would it not make a good deal more sense to place the onus for making the roads safer with the people who are making it dangerous?

 

[mickle]

care to clarify?

Are you, like, twelve?

 

[redcard]

Are you, like, twelve?

Why have your last posts been so abusive?

 

[mickle]

Aside from jumping in to a thread without making any attempt to read and understand the points being put forward? it was the wishing for earphone wearing cyclists to fall off so as to be 'taught a lesson'. Its the same sort of twisted moronic 'thinking' which concludes that people who ride without a helmet or hiviz deserve to be run over and that women who dress in a certain way are asking to be raped.

 

[ricky1980]

dan b...i totaly agree with u. the roads shiuld be made safer for us and others and there should be more road safety awareness built into every road user.

but the thing is law isn't going to change so i guess we should do the best we can.

furthermore cycling for me is a life style, a sport and hobby i enjoy. i choose to cycle because of those reasons. you wont get me into a car driving through central london cos its impractical and no fun. tho i like the idea of driving a tank through city centres...golden eye
esque
Mickle
you didnt read the sentence fully. you should go to specsavers!