Jarery

This has almost nothing to do with riding with an Ipod, it has a LOT to do with not using your eyes as your crossing a railroad crossing.

Most country roads on flat ground (where tracks are) your usually going so fast that wind noise is louder than an ipod.

v1k1ng1001

ipodsolation kills

CdCf

A deaf person is usually born deaf or has been deaf for a very long time, and has learned to compensate for the missing hearing by looking around. People with headphones are deaf, but generally don't look around. I see these morons every day I commute, and they're almost universally the same ones who do other dangerous moves, such as suddenly turning left across traffic (both bikes and motor traffic) without signalling or looking around to see if it's safe. They also swerve across the width of the bike lane quite often, which is made even worse by the fact that they don't look behind themselves, and can't hear people coming up behind them. Not even a loud ding from a bell will alert more than a small number of them.

I'm not saying that everyone who rides with headphones does this, but around here, it's usually the case. Unfortunately, the iPod has made it very popular to constantly feed music to the brain, so the majority of younger (<40 yo) commuters in this area use headphones while riding.

bkrownd

The tiny sorrowful violin of woe playing in my ear is deafening...SPLAT!...oh, it was just a mosquito.

tspoon

Newsflash : 95% of the roadusing population employ a form of transport which deteriorates their ability to hear ambient noise. Somehow they manage to compensate. It's not one of the big issues in the world of Road Safety.

Nicodemus

They can't help it. It makes them feel witty and righteous all at once.

Nicodemus

I prefer music and drugs

I'd rather share the road with any doped up cyclist than even the most alert SUV driver.

Nicodemus

What an apt username

seosamh

aye canny beat a nice leisurely cycle ride while being stoned out yer tree!

Idioteque

Good call,

seriously, wtf peer pressure?

racer boys?

CdCf

Ah, but you see, there are several major differences between car drivers and cyclists.

1. Cyclists as a group is very heterogenous when it comes to speed, especially going up inclines. That sets up a speed differential that is constantly changing, and is different in almost every situation. People in cars almost always drive at, or very close to, the same speed, so speed differentials are much lower, and overtaking traffic usually moves in adjacent lanes, not the same lane.

2. People are taught how to drive safely. People, as a rule, are not taught how to ride a bicycle safely. There are rear-view mirrors in cars, so drivers generally use them, and they serve much the same purpose as looking behind while riding a bike. People riding bikes have not been taught to look behind them at regular intervals, and before moving laterally or slowing down significantly. If hearing is unimpaired, they can pick up (either consciously or subconsciously) that there are other cyclists behind them, and that makes them much less likely to swerve, turn or brake suddenly.

3. Being hit by an overtaking car, or a car turning into you (from an adjacent lane) is usually not very serious (at any rate, far less so than hitting oncoming traffic or stationary objects next to the road). Being hit in any way while riding a bike can be very serious, especially if not wearing a helmet (iPod-induced deafness and severe helmet deficiency tend to go hand-in-hand...).

Chris L

Not as effective as simply looking both ways before crossing the railway tracks. As far as I can see, neither the Ipod nor the helmet had anything to do with it.

Nightshade

Did not the ear buds on the ipod keep the rider from hearing the train let alone provide
a distraction allowing the rider to "zone out"?

This is the only really "wrong" thing with any music device that uses ear buds on a bike.........
The distraction to the point of "zone out" while riding.

BetweenRides

Here's an update on the story. No editorial, just the story. This large group rides out of a local shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the season - many race and we cross paths with them on a regular basis on my Thursday club rides.

FatguyRacer

What the article doesnt say or hint at is what i suspect really happened. I think that the rider did see the train, but misjudged the trains speed and thought he'd make the crossing. Much in the same manner that many of us try to sprint thru yellow lights, (even reds!) at traffic intersections so we dont have to stop. Sometimes we make it, sometimes we dont. I seriously doubt the Ipod had anything to do with this tragic accident.

UmneyDurak

But, but it was found at the scene! It must have been involved.
P.S. I am being sarcastic.

UmneyDurak

Have you actually heard those whistles? You need to be half deaf, and have some ultra high end ear buds that actually go in to the ear canal. Then maybe you could be oblivious to the train coming. On the other hand someone thought they might beat the train gambled and lost like many others who got killed by trains. Hmm I wonder which one is more likely?

John Wilke

Irregardless of how it happened, it is still very sad.

BetweenRides

Agreed, John. We did a group ride today and rode by the RR crossing where it happened. This is rural Illinois and it is not a level grade crossing, as there is a slight rise on either side of the tracks. There is no light or crossing arm, just a RR sign. There is also some obstruction of brush/trees on one side and corn on the other. It's quite possible that there was no train whistle, so if a rider (or car) wasn't paying attention.....

robncircus

All it says is an iPod was found at the scene. No mention of him using it while riding.

rob

Stacey

A&S.

alanbikehouston

One of my regular riding routes crosses a train track. I slow waaay down, and look both ways before crossing the tracks. And, I do the same thing when I'm driving. The guy in the pickup truck behind me always goes nuts when I slow down at a train track...anything that irritates a bubba can't be bad...

Nightshade