My point is if people in smart cars can blare music and survive, as a cyclist or walker I can use one ear to listen to music while I ride. And trust me, I've ridden in a smart car, it feels like even the smallest full sized car can mow you down.

((Also, setting it to mono for one earbud helps as well, I'm a little OCD when it comes to music and it distracts me more to not hear a certain part of a song than to have ambient music playing in the 'background'.))