LesterOfPuppets

Last case I heard about in my neck of the woods, the dude was walking along the track, nowhere near a grade crossing with his rock on max volume before getting run down by a train.

ItsJustMe

...and if anyone else happens to enjoy different things than I do, then obviously there's something wrong with them, right? Anyone who's different than I am is just weird and wrong.

You know, nobody's trying to force you to wear headphones. Please don't try to force them not to.

iforgotmename

Poguemahone

I thought I'd weigh in on the deaf driver issue. First, some background: I am missing a large portion of my hearing and have since birth. I am completely deaf in one ear with partial hearing in the other. I enjoy and listen to music, with a collection of over 2000 lps and more cds; my hearing loss is much more situational than you might expect (you would not notice my lack of hearing in a small room, for instance, where I'm practically deaf in large echoing spaces). Because of the extent of my hearing loss, I was grouped with deaf students thru my education, though I was mainstreamed into regular classes. I was the only student in my middle school homeroom who wasn't either completely deaf or had hearing aids. I've been on the edge of deaf culture much of my life, somewhere between it and the hearing world.

Deaf drivers are allowed to drive a properly equipped car. They are limited on larger vehicles; UPS will not leat deaf drivers drive their larger trucks, for instance, and I believe they are not allowed to drive commercial trucks in all states. reference:
https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/06/us...eral-rule.html

It would also not surprise anyone here that LEOs often don't know the laws regarding deaf drivers either, and this occasionally causes friction. Much like LEOs don't always know the laws regarding cyclists.

Being deaf, you live more on visual clues (obviously). You pick up on different set of signals, that's all. I'm suspicious of those in the hearing community who think they magically have this ability; like so much else in the world, it is a learned skill. I'm not certain I'd shut off even the remains of any one sense on the bike; too much risk involved. But there are situations on the bike, like in life, where I am for all practical purposes deaf. It's not that big a deal, I just focus on other clues aside from sound. When my hearing works, I use it. When it doesn't, I don't. But riding deaf is a lot different than riding with headphones, sorry.

Also, given the number of drivers who shut themselves off from any aural input (for factors ranging from car design to loud stereos) I think this discussion is a bit of a MacGuffin.

Pedaleur

Bicycling magazine claims only a few states regulate headphones:

https://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2010/08/24/216/

Though they failed to note Virginia, so I don't know how thorough they were.

§ 46.2-1078: "It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle, bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or moped on the highways in the Commonwealth while using earphones on or in both ears."

I get a lot of information through my ears; I wouldn't want to reduce my connection to my surroundings. Though really I just hate having things in my ears, so the issue is 'mute' for me.

Your mileage may vary.

mikeybikes

Except that Colorado law makes the distinction between motorized vehicles and non-motorized vehicles.

nycphotography

Silly man, you obviously made the mistake of thinking people who want to mandate your personal life for your own good actually care about facts and reality. ;-)

People who want to tell YOU what to do for THEIR benefit, NEVER want to know about any facts or alternate points of view.

And it's ALWAYS for their benefit, even though they'll try 17 ways to Sunday to spin it like they're really doing you a favor.



That said, I find it very interesting... for example, I never knew a deaf person was prohibited from driving all commercial vehicles. Puts a real crimp in a small business when you can't run your own deliveries or do off site work (like construction).

Poguemahone

I believe this is limited to commercial vehicles that require a special class liscence, like a Semi. You can obviously drive smaller commercial vehicles (even UPS allows deafies to drive the small, van-like vehicles, just not the bigger delivery trucks). A pickup is okay.

Interestingly, I have no idea if I have such restrictions. By some standards I am considered handicapped by my hearing.

mikeybikes

I never stated such.

Digital_Cowboy

I've done a Google search and have come up with the following from Bicycling Magazine Road Rules column:

The Law: Riding with Tunes
Only five states regulate the use of headphones by cyclists, and generally the limitations are directed at all vehicle operators. Two of those states–Florida and Rhode Island–prohibit any use of headsets. The intent is to ensure that vehicle operators won’t inhibit their ability to hear sirens and vehicle horns.
The other three states that regulate the use of headsets–California, Delaware and Maryland–prohibit their use in both ears; in these states, one ear must be left uncovered. Maryland makes an exception to this law for riders on bike paths.
Some states make a distinction between headsets used for playing music or other recorded material and those used for cell phones. For example, Florida lifts its ban on earphones when they’re used with a cell phone. In fact, as more states begin to regulate mobile-phone use, vehicle operators are increasingly being required to use hands-free devices.

Carusoswi

If you are wiping out due to joggers who move (I guess you mean into your path) because they didn't hear you 'call out', then you are riding too fast, too close to the pedestrian, or both.

It is your responsibility on a multi-use path to avoid any pedestrian or vehicle that you seek to overtake, and it matters not whether they can see you or hear you, whether they are walking in a perfectly straight line, or staggering from one side of the path to the other.

The staggerer may, himself/herself be guilty of any number of infractions, however, none gives you the right to pass in such a way that a collision is likely to occur. You must avoid striking whatever/whomever you choose to overtake, even if, ultimately, the only means of avoidance means that you slow down, stop, or abandon your effort to pass.

The concept is clear and simple. It may be rude, perhaps even illegal for a person on foot, bike, or in a motor vehicle, to impede your travel, but nothing gives you the right to strike that person, cyclist, or motor vehicle in your attempt to overtake.

It's a pretty much universal law on land and sea, and I would bet that it is codified in most of the US states.

Caruso

Digital_Cowboy

I think that that is the justification for the laws that "target" the homeless. It's not so much for their "safety or welfare" but rather because someone with money are "offended" or "embarrassed" by the presence of the homeless on the street or in the parks. And not so much for their (the homeless) welfare, just trying to get them out of sight as it were.

Carusoswi

So, because you don't need (or think you don't need) distractions, there must be something wrong with a person who does need 'distractions.' Oh, and wait! What proves a distraction to you might be someone else's focal point. Perhaps you ride because you truly enjoy riding with its natural ambiance. Does that make some else weird or wrong or annoying to you if they ride for other reasons, such as exercise. I would imagine there are many riders out there who actually force themselves to ride for the exercise, even though they may not particularly care for cycling. Some of those may choose to listen to music to make the time go by faster . . . but that's wrong to you. You want them to chill out, so what?

Oh, and I challenge you to describe the sound of the bubbling brook and the chirping birds as you descend a hill at 25 mph. At that speed, you are not likely to hear anything more than the wind in your ears, and, unless you are wearing goggles, you aren't really going to see much beyond where the road is, either.

For that matter, one also isn't going to hear much in the way of music delivered via any means at that speed.

I so wanted to be able to listen to music during my rides (I would likely be listening to classical music, btw), but gave up the idea because I could find no ear bud/phone design over which the wind could flow smoothly enough so that, at speed, it did not cause a roar at levels that would result in hearing loss.

So, now, when I ride, I just ride, no listening device of any kind. I truly discount the notion that the use of a listening device increases ones risks significantly, but I question how enjoyable it can be to have the wind banging against your ear buds, but, if you are happy, who am I to question you. Go ahead and wear the buds if you like.

Caruso

Unreqistered

Your argument makes no sense. Both riders are impaired (in your eyes), why does the cause of that impairment excuse the behavior.

Camilo

So I wonder how embarrassed you feel about your previous ignorant opinion Maybe you should have done your homework before writing rather than asking us to do it for you afterwards. Take care, happy cycling.

Digital_Cowboy

None, not in the least little bit, because just because a cursory search of the Internet doesn't turn something up, doesn't mean that it isn't out there. And I am sure that Bob Mionske would agree that just because a search didn't turn anything up doesn't prove that it doesn't exist.

CB HI

Man, this headphone thread is filling up with even more BS than usual.

nycphotography

don sprise me nun

I-Like-To-Bike

Please send me the $100 you owe me. Just because I can't produce any evidence of this debt, does not mean that it doesn't exist. I believe it is so, so pay up!

Digital_Cowboy

Ha, ha, yer funny.

If you weren't aware of it before now NOT everything can be found online.

But seeing as you are under the delusion that I "owe" you $100.00, I tell you what, just deduct it from the $20..00 that you owe me and send me the balance.

nycphotography

Wow, not only is finding stuff out hard, but apparently math is hard too.

jputnam

First, you need to smooth out the air flow over the front helmet straps, they're actually responsible for a lot of the turbulence that causes wind noise. You can buy fancy plastic wind deflectors for this, but I just cover the front straps with 5/8"-diameter silicone medical tubing. To hear the difference, try riding fast, then take one hand off the bars and lay a finger along your helmet strap, ahead of your ear. It sets up a big eddy that slows the wind speed around your ear. Makes a huge difference on most helmets I've used in the past 20 years.

Next, you want to further isolate the ear from wind flow, without blocking hearing. I use a Pearl Izumi helmet liner with ear flaps -- it's designed to keep your head warmer in cold weather, but it also holds your ears closer to your skull, and reduces air movement over your external ear.

Finally, I use a headset designed as a cell phone headset, Motorola S-9 bluetooth. It nests in my ears without blocking external sounds -- designed specifically for use as a phone headset, where you don't want to have to take your headset off to hear local conversation.

With the three, I can comfortably listen to classical vocals (tonight's selection was a compilation of Stephen Foster ballads) at conversational levels, with minimal wind noise, and without blocking outside sounds.

jputnam

Most of the accidents I'm familiar with locally aren't people crossing the tracks, they're Darwin-award candidates walking *along* the tracks, run down from behind after not hearing the horn of a train approaching from their rear. You have to be a bit dim IMHO to be walking along the tracks to begin with, but how distracted do you have to be to not hear a train horn? With my headphones on waiting on the train platform every morning, I can hear the train half a mile away.

BarracksSi

I never cross train tracks without... oh, what's it called again?.... oh yeah: LOOKING.

Stupid people are stupid people. Doesn't matter what they have in their ears.

BarracksSi

+1. It's not often that I ride at 25 mph anyway, but with the wind we have sometimes, I might as well be riding 40 mph instead. On some days, I can't hear a friggin' thing that's more than two feet away (including any noises from my own bike). I've posted before that I once couldn't hear a tour bus that was hanging behind me -- and I wasn't using earbuds or anything.

Downtown, even without wind, there are usually enough noises that I can't rely on my ears to pick out which ones are a hazard to me. Some vehicles are a lot quieter than others, too (and all of them are quieter than jackhammers), so just because you can't hear something doesn't mean it's not there. I don't change lanes or make turns without getting a good, clear look at where I want to go.