[Closed] Riding on the road with headphones...

if it isn't safe to pass, it isn't safe to pass, why should he get out of your way?

Headphones are a minor issue, Plenty of times i use them, you tend to know when a driver is behind, call it sixth sense, and it doesn't mean i am going to do anything to make the drivers life easier, and probably put me in a dangerous position as they squeeze by, If you ride up a hill you tend to wander, it is why the highway code is very specific on the room you should give when overtaking a cyclist.

I use them on the traffic free part of my commute then take them out when I get on the road. I do occasionally use them on road rides and to be honest with the volume low then it's not a problem. Wind noise can cut the sound of an approaching car just as much. Should we not ride in the wind either?

I was gonna say - I wonder if there's any long-term damage could be caused through wind noise and if earplugs might actually be a good idea.

I can appreciate what the OP is saying - I've only tried earphone once while riding (on a quiet road) and really didn't like the sense of isolation. But then I also guess that, as a driver, you should be considering that any cyclist could be deaf.

Shouldn't you have given him enough room to use the whole lane when overtaking??

I have no problems hearing approaching cars with earphones, use them on most rides. I wouldn't use them in-ear jobbies though.

Wouldn't use them on the bike if you paid me. There's no way i'd want to deprive myself of a valuable sense that may help in fending off the idiots that I have to share the roads with.
If a judge can cut damages to somebody with head injuries because they weren't wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, then you'd probably not have much defence if wearing headphones in a similar situation.

mrmo... there would have been plenty of room to pass if he wasn't wandering quite so much across the road, and the reason I didn't pass him there was because it was not safe to do so having no idea whether he was going to wander even further across the road. It just seemed to be that he was completely oblivious to the fact that there was anything behind him.

Gary_M.. I don't seem to have any trouble hearing cars behind me when I'm riding in on my commute, even if it's windy, and if that is a problem surely it's just made even worse by wearing earphones!

djglover... I was trying to make sure I gave him as much room as possible when I overtook, and when I did finally I was fully on the over side of the road... but it's kinda hard to do that when he's veering across the road, so I didn't overtake at that point.

In which case, surely I did the right thing in not overtaking at that point!

I [i]always [/i] ride with headphones on while I'm on the road..

Some nice D'n'B keeping me company..

Always have it at a level that I can still hear traffic, but yeah..

natural selection

[i]Gary_M.. I don't seem to have any trouble hearing cars behind me when I'm riding in on my commute, even if it's windy, and if that is a problem surely it's just made even worse by wearing earphones! [/i]

And I don't have aproblem hearing cars approaching when I have headphones in. It's not just about hearing them anyway, you can 'feel' a vehicle behind you.

Wouldn't use them on the bike if you paid me. There's no way i'd want to deprive myself of a valuable sense that may help in fending off the idiots that I have to share the roads with.

QFT.

That said, courtesy goes both ways. I am aware of traffic around me and I treat them with the respect they may or may not deserve. If I, a cyclist am heading up a hill or I know I am impeding traffic I may choose to ride closer to the verge than otherwise to let them pass. It depends on the road width/lane width/verge/traffic in opposite carriageway/road speed/conditions/mood. To ride courteously one must be aware of the other traffic on the road. Nay, they have a DUTY to be aware of the other traffic on the road.

funkynick - I wish the folks who have to overtake me thought ahead enough to think "what he does..." and were prepared to slow down because it wasn't safe to overtake.

Gary M your psychic! 😀 You could make a fortune on sky living.

Anything above 15mph and I cant hear a thing behind me.

When you drive, can you hear other road users about you from within your metal shell, with the sound of the gratuitous power of your engine? If you have the radio on too, listening to The Archers?

Cyclists are road users, and the ability to hear or not (through headphones or deafness) should not influence their safety, nor a judge's decision to let off yet another driver that has slaughtered one more cyclist in one more 'accident', one more RTA.

Just this morning I was smashed off my bike into a parked car by a boy racer who just drove on, apparently oblivious. I was riding (without headphones) about 2/3rds of the way across my lane to block cars from overtaking me in the narrow inner city road I was riding on. But boy racer decides there is just enough room to overtake me, and accelerates alongside, sees a car in the opposite lane, pulls in and smashes me off.

I'm sorry, but car drivers are all idiots, polluting and murdering, and being able to hear them or not won't stop them murdering you regardless.

I often use headphones if I'm out on my own for a long road ride but I only use one and in my left ear. I use ear buds which give clarity but with only using one bud I can still hear the traffic. I do tend to only listen to talky radio though rather than my metal collection!

i figured I would still ride a bike if I went deaf so why not use headphones!

When you drive, can you hear other road users about you from within your metal shell, with the sound of the gratuitous power of your engine? If you have the radio on too, listening to The Archers?

No but you have these things called mirrors. And people don't tend to force themselves past you like they do when you're on a bike.

If I'm riding on my own, I have headphones in and listen to music - use in-ear headphones as they remove voices but I can still hear traffic without any problems - but I don't have loud volumes so no issues for me. Don't see the problem IF you can still hear traffic.

mansonsoul - Member

I'm sorry, but car drivers are all idiots, polluting and murdering, and being able to hear them or not won't stop them murdering you regardless.

No room for compromise then?

No but you have these things called mirrors.
Thats a very broad brush Mrs Flash, firstly you are assuming that because they are there they will be used.
The cyclist in question here, didn't look over his shoulder when he changed road position.

mansonsoul -
Just this morning I was smashed off my bike into a parked car by a boy racer who just drove on, apparently oblivious. I was riding (without headphones) [b]about 2/3rds of the way across my lane to block cars from overtaking me [/b]in the narrow inner city road I was riding on. But boy racer decides there is just enough room to overtake me, and accelerates alongside, sees a car in the opposite lane, pulls in and smashes me off.

Maybe you ment your match?

funkynick-
So he was weaving all over both lanes? Drivers need to give as much room to cyclist as they would passing a car. What would you do if there was a tractor crawling along at 15mph?

BTW I do use headphones to listen to radio on solo rides but can always hear traffic, they're also great for stopping earache on cold rides.

SpeshPaul, I was riding where I was deliberately to stop people overtaking me. But that doesn't stop idiots with a ton of metal and testosterone from trying.

What about deaf riders?

Anyway, don't most cars have horns...?

And the normal response if a car beeps at a cyclist is for the cyclist to make an abusive gesture back.

I was deliberately to stop people overtaking me

To a ****t thats just a goal.

That's on them then, but at least they know the car is there.

I was followed up a climb last weekend by a car for about 3/4 of a mile (narrow country road). When i pulled into a passing place to let them past the driver smiled and thanked me which i thought was nice. I wasn't sure if the thanks was for letting them pass or because of my fine ass though.

cheers_drive... I reckon he got to somewhere around the middle of the road before veering back again, and as I said, I didn't overtake then as I thought it wasn't safe to do so... anyone would think I barged past him with only an inch to spare! I later overtook him when it was safe to do so, on a flat section where he wasn't weaving... I'm not sure I could have done any better as a driver, unless not overtaking at all is the only acceptable thing to do.

mansonsoul... car drivers tend to have mirrors, but I will grant that not all use them and some drivers are utter c*cks.. but that doesn't mean they all are.

Just out of interest, is there any law surrounding this sort of thing?

I have a death wish. I've been commuting for 15 years+ with headphones and rather disappointingly, not been killed yet.
The knocks/scrapes/near-misses I've had would NOT have been avoided by being able to hear the traffic better.

Jontaylor (or anyone for that matter), what does QFT mean?

just set the volume loud enough that you can still hear your tyres on the road and you will hear any other traffic too.

Speshpaul - Member
Just this morning I was smashed off my bike into a parked car by a boy racer who just drove on, apparently oblivious. I was riding (without headphones) about 2/3rds of the way across my lane to block cars from overtaking me in the narrow inner city road I was riding on. But boy racer decides there is just enough room to overtake me, and accelerates alongside, sees a car in the opposite lane, pulls in and smashes me off.

Maybe you ment your match?

Paul, you're wrong. He did the right thing. Although saying all drivers are murderers etc. isn't fair.

its a "trail hound" subject

those who do will defend it to their dying breath, those who don't think you are a ****

Yeah, riders with headphones make me wary every time I drive past 'em. I always give them an extra wide berth. I suppose it would be a nice distraction if you're commuting along the same roads five days a week or out on a training ride churning out the miles, but I think it's your responsibility to yourself to be as attentive as possible on most roads if you're on a bike.

you can 'feel' a vehicle behind you.

Nae bother Obi Wan 😆

On the road you need every ounce of hearing you can get.
Riding with headphones just increases your chance of not hearing a boy racer (or in Harrogate mad Audi driver) approaching from behind. The engine noise from several hundred metres away can tell you so much about whether the driver is a nob or not and means I can leave space as appropriate.

Riding with headphones is Darwin at work.

Dom C - Member

Yeah, riders with headphones make me wary every time I drive past 'em. I always give them an extra wide berth.

Sounds like a good justification for wearing them.

"Hairychested - Member

Speshpaul - Member
Just this morning I was smashed off my bike into a parked car by a boy racer who just drove on, apparently oblivious. I was riding (without headphones) about 2/3rds of the way across my lane to block cars from overtaking me in the narrow inner city road I was riding on. But boy racer decides there is just enough room to overtake me, and accelerates alongside, sees a car in the opposite lane, pulls in and smashes me off.

Maybe you ment your match?

Paul, you're wrong. He did the right thing. "

Taking a defence wide road position is one thing,and not a bad thing.
However
"I was riding (without headphones) about 2/3rds of the way across my lane to block cars from overtaking me"
"I was deliberately to stop people overtaking me"

A c0ck in a car (and theres plenty of them) is going to see you as acting like a c0ck doing that. They will judge you by their rules.
And to a c0ck to only answer to c0cks is to be a bigger c0ck!

Don't tell me you've never seen that on the road!

I ride with one ear in on main roads, but when you are belting along at 20mph+ you can't hear anything due to the wind noise so does it actually make any difference?
I was told of a week or so ago by another rider who said he was shouting at me for over a mile to tell me to take them out. Once he got my attention he siad how dangerous it was as you couldn't hear what was going. He then over took me and was 3m infront of me and I was shouting at him and he couldn't hear me. So his point was what?

Don't see any problem using earphones whilst riding, i usually wear my Oakley Thumps.
If you're on the road riding then it's obvious there's gonna be cars around. You should always look over your shoulder before moving over the road to turn etc. And if some twonk doesn't see you and drives into you how is not wearing headphones going to save you?

I hate it when cars - and even worse motorbikes - come flashing past me at speed. I much prefer to hear them before I see them.

knowing the roads round this area he was probably wandering to find a way round the pot hols?? i ride with ear-phones on the road and off when alone, i find it helps me to ride for longer, faster?? live and let live.

coatsey - "QFT" or Quoted for Truth. A very lazy way of saying "I agree with this sentiment".

I think somebody mentioned it on the first page of this thread but nobody seems to have picked up on it. What about deaf riders? I only ask as I am going deaf. I have an appointment to have my first aid fitted. Just in one ear but the other won't be far behind and I'm expecting to be profoundly deaf within a few years.
Am I to stop riding my bike on the roads?

Barca I think your situation is different from ear phoneed riders. In your case you are losing hearing through no chioce of your own. I think the benefits of riding still outweight the risks of not hearing oncoming traffic.

However, to remove a sense which may save your life, through choice, when road riding is just plain stupid.

The argument that it [i]should[/i] be safe to wear headphones and that cars need to give more room is equally bone-headed. The rights and wrongs of it won't matter when you're smashed up in hospital, or worse.

I did 60 happy kilometers today with headphones in. No helmet either.

Good for you nick, but it's not the happy Kms that matter. It's the 1 Km where you get smashed off your bike by a car you didn't hear.

Your choice though.

You're right, it may happen, it may not. The car that hits me hard enough to do damage, it probably won't matter if I can hear it, or whether I'm wearing a helmet, everything else; I'll take my chance.

What action do you perform every time you hear a car approaching el_boufador? I think I'd find it tiresome to move closer to the kerb each time a car passed. So I don't, I maintain a sensible position whilst wearing headphones. FWIW, I can hear most cars approaching.

Voluntary or involuntary El-B, it's the same effect.

I'm having flashbacks to "the Brittas Empire" TV series here.For those that don't remember, it ended with the main character being wheelchair-bound after being run down by a lorry whilst crossing the road, however, to him it didn't matter because he had the green man, and was therefore in the right:)

You're presuming that it's unsafe coatsey. What do you do when you hear a car approaching from behind?

Rich,
Every time I hear a car approaching I make a judgement primarily of it's speed and the way it's being driven. For instance have you ever heard a car being chased by the police? You can hear by the way it is being driven that risks are being taken by the driver. That would be my cue to get off the road! To some extent you can also hear the position of a car on the road - are they giving a wide berth or are they cutting it fine?

Barca, yes effect is the same, I guess possibly worse for you? However for you it isn't voluntary. I could go and smash the wing mirrors off my car and I could probably still drive OK, but I wouldn't do it on purpose for obvious reasons (or maybe not so obvious, reading this thread).

Sorry el_boufador but I don't believe you actually do that, because if you did road riding would be a chore and not a pleasure. I do agree that if there was a police chase behind me I would probably get off the road, but I think I'd hear the sirens and the squealing of tyres. Plus, I've not seen that in my 32 years, which would lead me to believe it's quite rare. I certainly can't tell if a car is going to pass closely when I don't have my Ipod with me.

I wouldn't say it's a conscious process Rich. Basically if I hear anything out of the ordinary it'll prompt me to take extra care. As for car chases I've seen several in the past few years (Leeds area), and countless dangerous/aggresive drivers.

I'll concede that to some extent where you ride does make a difference to the safety of riding with headphones. That said sometimes the quietest lanes are where drivers take most risks...because they are quiet.

I certainly listen for and hear cars at any speed I can attain on a bicycle despite being slightly deaf. Its the old active against passive safety debate all over again

I use my iPod on my commute to work, but only use the left earphone, so my traffic side ear is free. I'd feel very isolated in a little musical bubble otherwise.

I bike everyday with my headphones on( in ear), and volume up loudest(whilst singing). The difference between when i drive and when i bike is when i drive i know i have a curtain of safety around me whereas on a bike you are constantly aware of your surroundings and whats happening. For instance i can guarantee that 10/10 times i'm first away from the lights because you know when there going to change, coming up to junctions i always know whats behind me, beside me and have checked the road i'm about to cross 3 or 4 times before i'm already there. Road riding heightens your senses that motor vehicle drivers can only dream off

i'm for headphones while riding. use em all the time,

as said, to move over everytime a car comes by, or stop at the side of the road/in a laybye (sp) would be an utter pain in the arse. i ride along, at the same sorta distance out wherever i am, in town i'll be on the outside of a lane, the inside, the middle. wherever i need to be to get where i'm going.
If in a bunch, i wouldn't bother singling out, we have as much right to be there as any car. so we cruise along as we need to.

I listen to my iPod when commuting the 20 miles or so to work, I can always hear cars coming behind, maybe not till they are a bit closer so I regularly look over my shoulder too so I know if anything is behind me.

It's not difficult.

However, even if I didn't do that I still don't know what difference wearing headphones or not would make if a car driver was not looking and drove into me, I doubt very much that my hearing would mean I could take defensive action.

Yep, my argument has always been how can you tell the difference between a car that's safely going to pass you, and one that's going to mow you down!? I'd barely get anywhere if I got off the road for every single car I heard coming, what an absurd notion.

I find that when I occasionally ride without headphones I think I can hear cars when they're not there, I can hear them better with headphones in, I guess due to the wind noise being blocked out.

I do agree that you can often tell when a car's behind anyway, shadows, the way oncoming traffic acts, lights reflected in your front hub, all sorts of things.

I've done thousands of miles with headphones in, and neither of the incidents I've had with cars would've been any different without headphones.

Riders (or car drivers or any other road user!) who swerve all over the road deserve to be mown down, irrespective of whether they can hear or not, it's natural selection. I just ride in a sensible position on the road all the time!

I think el_boufador you either ride very very slowly, have the hearing of a bat, or are talking sh1t about your ability to judge the speed/urgency/lane position of an approaching car!

I was wearing headphones when I got knocked off my bike years ago.
wouldn't have made any difference if I was or not - I heard the motorbike coming anyway, still wasn't much I could have done about it as he was driving like a ****t

Luckly I'm still here, and he came out worse because his bike was in bits.
Would still wear headphone, that motor vehicle, if driven badly, will hit you anyway - unless you are going to pull over and stop every time you hear something behind you.

This old debate again :p I usually have earphones in when solo on the road bike (and turned up pretty loud to overcome wind noise). The thing is I ride safely, as in as close to the side of the road as I safely can. I've also learnt to ride my bike so I don't weave about all over the shop. Being able to hear an approaching car doesn't make me ride differently, in fact hearing some boy racer or whatever coming up behind you is more likely to make you tense up and weave than if you're oblivious and just stay relaxed.
Do you get off the bike and stand on the grass verge if you hear a car coming up behind you? I don't so why the frick do I need to care?

If I was commuting in heavy traffic it would be a different story, I would want to hear cars behind as you're riding in traffic and the extra awareness can be a benefit but on relatively quiet country lanes (where I do my road training) I see no benefit. Same as during winter I'll wear a thermal headband or skull cap which covers the ears and greatly reduces my hearing.

FuzzyWuzzy - Member

This old debate again :p I usually have earphones in when solo on the road bike (and turned up pretty loud to overcome wind noise). The thing is I ride safely, as in as close to the side of the road as I safely can.

That's not my definition of safe riding. I prefer to sit about 1/3rd of the way out - and move nearer the centre line when approaching junctions etc on the left.

Being able to hear an approaching car doesn't make me ride differently, in fact hearing some boy racer or whatever coming up behind you is more likely to make you tense up and weave than if you're oblivious and just stay relaxed.
Do you get off the bike and stand on the grass verge if you hear a car coming up behind you?

Maybe it's just me, but it's not about stopping when you hear something. Suddenly seeing a fast car/motorbike appear in my 3 o'clock gives me the willies. I can see the point that hearing the car that's about to hit you isn't gonna make any difference to your injuries though.

Hmmm. Perhaps I should give the earphones thing another try.

It is a question of getting the volume right. I have mine set so that i can still here it fine but can here traffic above it. In fact the wind noise above 25mph drowns out everything. I use mine only when commuting and in heavy traffic and can still sense that cars around me. The only time car/buses/trucks etc make me jump is when i have driffted off in to my own world which happens regardles if i have headphones in or not.