What the musical issue then

[gb155]

With the addison Lee stuff raising the issue of cyclists using ipods etc

I ask this:

Why is it okay to pump out the tunes in ones motor vehicle but not on ones cycle????

I do both btw!!!

 

[redcard]

Because one method of transport provides about a ton of metal to protect you, and the other doesn't.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Driving on roads you don't know whilst looking and listening to satnavs is of course a far less serious matter.

 

[potsy]

 

[redcard]

Driving on roads you don't know whilst looking and listening to satnavs is of course a far less serious matter.

I saw a man punch an old woman in the face. That means it's alright if I go up and give the old woman just a little slap, eh?

 

[Sore Thumb]

Too right. If cyclists should not use iPods then motorists should also have there music devices removed or have the speaker volume limited.

Cars are built these like mobile sound proof booths. When you add loud music to this you have a recipe for disaster. So why is there no press reports of "loud music motorist in collision".

Once you say "iPod cyclist in collision" you automatically blame the cyclist, even though the cyclist was probably listening to some talk show on its lowest volume. And having this iPod on, would have nothing to do with been hit by a car from behind. It would also have made no deference if the cyclist had no iPod in.

 

[Sore Thumb]

I am more likely going to kill a cyclist when I start messing with my music player trying to change the tracks in my car than a cyclist would kill themselves by listening to their own music.

 

[redcard]

Once you say "iPod cyclist in collision" you automatically blame the cyclist, even though the cyclist was probably listening to some talk show on its lowest volume. And having this iPod on, would have nothing to do with been hit by a car from behind. It would also have made no deference if the cyclist had no iPod in.

Source?

I am more likely going to kill a cyclist when I start messing with my music player trying to change the tracks in my car than a cyclist would kill themselves by listening to their own music.

Source?

 

[Boris Bajic]

I quite understand why people don't like to cycle while listening to MP3 players.

I drive with music or Radio 4. I drive everywhere like that. I am sitting in a comfortable, cosy environment designed (in theory) to give me a good view of where I want to go, where I don't want to go and where I've been. I have three mirrors and a bunch of dials and gauges to keep me abreast of my speed and the state of the car.

When I cycle in the countryside and into the Malvern Hills, I have my left (nearside) ear atached to an iPod. My right is unadorned. Once I'm back in a town, both ears are unadorned. In London and other cities, I wouldn't dream of wearing an iPod. In a car, I have no such scruples.

It's not the ton of metal or the side-impact bars that allow me safely to listen to music in my car. Safety and security in a car seem to me to be less a function of one's aural awareness of the environment than it is on a bicycle.

I do not know exactly why this is. When the Sony Walkman first appeared, I wore on to ride to work on my pre-war sit-up-and-beg bike. I was nearly splatted within a mile of home and swore I'd never use one again on a bike.

My wife and children are thoroughly against my use of an iPod while cycling, but the one-ear thing (and rural use only) seem to do it for me.

I have never known anyone who feels that they (or other drivers) are distracted by talk radio or music while in charge of a car. Is it because the music comes from the dash and the door panels rather than a thingy in your ear?

I don't know. But I do think the direct comparison is invalid, even though (like the OP) I do both.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Driving on roads you don't know whilst looking and listening to satnavs is of course a far less serious matter.

I too am surprised that there isn't more hoo-ha about the use of SatNav.

I've been guilty in the past of typing in an address while moving. It is utterly distracting and I no longer do it.

Similarly, I've ridden with cyclists who have an obsessive relationship with their GPS/altimeter/calory counter/computer/heartrate monitor.

I've known a rider to go along at a good speed while tapping away on a Garmin or similar to change the read-out, quite oblivious to the chaos around them.

Admittedly they don't deliver death at 1 tonne and 65 mph, but it is still a menace of sorts.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I like my music full blast - even got wireless headphones so I don't disturb the neighbours but never on my commute, I really need all my wits about me on the roads. On saying that, I think if you are cycling on a dedicated path, no vehicles allowed at all, I think it's ok to wear an ipod. In such an environment you can still have a collision with a pedestrian or another cyclist, but being less able to hear won't affect this kind of accident, imo.

 

[Sore Thumb]

Source?



Source?

= Cycle forum not scientific journal

I am having enough problems writing for publication at the moment without having to do it for a cycle forum as well.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I have never known anyone who feels that they (or other drivers) are distracted by talk radio or music while in charge of a car.

Me I remember on my driving test I had to ask the examiner to stop chatting, as I needed to concentrate. I have also seen experienced drivers turning the radio off on an unfamiliar route, just till they got their bearings again.

 

[BentMikey]

I think people conflate "listening to ipod" with "not looking around and not maintaining spatial awareness". Is there a connection between the two?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I think people conflate "listening to ipod" with "not looking around and not maintaining spatial awareness". Is there a connection between the two?

Well, I can only speak for myself: yes, I feel my spatial awareness is impaired when I've got my headphones on, even when I am a pedestrian.