Helmets and Headphones

[martint235]

Now I'm happy to lay my cards out on the table. I don't believe that cycling helmets, as currently designed, offer more protection to my head than a teacosy. I also think that the argument about car drivers also not being able to hear what's behind them is the biggest load of guff since someone shouted "Hey there's a picture of a face on this mouldy old sheet" and that it's madness to voluntarily render a sense useless when you don't have to.

So this poll is about whether or not you are so safety conscious you believe a helmet helps but that you're happy not to hear the stuff around you and rely purely on sight.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

There is no shroud option on yer poll...

 

[DaveReading]

I also think that the argument about car drivers also not being able to hear what's behind them is the biggest load of guff

I'm confused. What is the connection between what a car driver can or can't hear and what a cyclist is wearing in his/her ear?

 

[martint235]

There is no shroud option on yer poll...

Fixed for you.

 

[martint235]

I'm confused. What is the connection between what a car driver can or can't hear and what a cyclist is wearing in his/her ear?

One of the arguments/excuses for wearing headphones while cycling and not being able to hear the traffic around you as a result is that car drivers can't either but no one ever criticises them

 

[mjr]

I sometimes wear one earpiece in cities to hear my sat nav. For music, I have a speaker in a pocket. It doesn't really fit in this poll.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Fixed for you.

Merci..
I left mine in Turin after a drunken supper with ma mates...

 

[Drago]

Where's the "Anyone who fails to wear a helmet should have an Iraqi flag tattooed on their forehead and be locked in a cell with Charles Bronson" option?

And the "Full immersive 3D virtual reality headset" option is also conspicuous by its absence.

 

[summerdays]

Where's the sometimes do and sometimes don't option? Helmet not headphones option.

 

[martint235]

Where's the sometimes do and sometimes don't option? Helmet not headphones option.

I was trying to keep the list of options shorter than a Subway menu!!! Just go for majority

 

[summerdays]

I'm confused. What is the connection between what a car driver can or can't hear and what a cyclist is wearing in his/her ear?

Don't both need to be able to hear as an additional source of information if they can?

 

[martint235]

Don't both need to be able to hear as an additional source of information if they can?

It would be ideal if they could however the design of a modern car precludes this and takes it out of the drivers' control. A cyclist with headphones is voluntarily removing a sense. Note the voluntarily as another argument is "But deaf people can cycle" which they can and should do but they don't voluntarily remove the sense and would probably find it laughable that someone would wish to do so.

 

[summerdays]

It would be ideal if they could however the design of a modern car precludes this and takes it out of the drivers' control. A cyclist with headphones is voluntarily removing a sense. Note the voluntarily as another argument is "But deaf people can cycle" which they can and should do but they don't voluntarily remove the sense and would probably find it laughable that someone would wish to do so.

Well you say that but I have cycled with a deaf person who did remove their hearing aid, though mainly as they were bothered by wind noise, but that's not what you actually mean. I think car drivers who have their music so loud that it's clearly audible outside the car are reducing the chances of hearing that shout or siren that needed to be heard.

 

[Drago]

Surely a car driver is also voluntarily removing a sense by their choice of transport?

Research in the US has shown that riding with headphones at moderate volume still allows more ambient noise to reach the ear than simply sitting in a car with the engine off, so the comparison does not bear scrutiny.

And from what I see as a trainer of fairly advanced cycling skills, most riders - even those who've been riding for decades and fancy themselves as a bit tasty on a bike - do not even bother using their eyes properly. You're worried about a secondary sense when your use of the prime one is probably well below optimum, and this seems strange indeed.

I am not pro headphone but before becoming 'anti' I will want to see some evidence that it presents a danger. To date the little research that has been done on the matte has failed to do so.

 

[martint235]

Well you say that but I have cycled with a deaf person who did remove their hearing aid, though mainly as they were bothered by wind noise, but that's not what you actually mean. I think car drivers who have their music so loud that it's clearly audible outside the car are reducing the chances of hearing that shout or siren that needed to be heard.

They are indeed and should also be discouraged. However the pro-headphone brigade usually just use your standard car driver listening to the Today programme as evidence of how it's completely safe. My issues aren't particularly with the safety or increase in risk, it's the voluntary removal of a sense. No one would suggest cycling blindfold although visually impaired people are able to cycle (depending on level of impairment with or without a pilot). There is also a lot of money invested in the development of gloves that keep our hands warm and dry but allow us to feel what the bike is doing.