On my commute back home this evening through the pouring rain, listening to MIA (ya know that song with the guns and the cash register for percussion), I developed an opinion. I know I shouldn't fan these flames, but I think I should make a point from my perspective as an automotive gearhead as well as a cyclist. Headphone critics, hear me out.

My buddy Ian had a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II, with double-glazed windows and other fancy sound-deadening from factory. It really did live up to the famous Rolls Royce advertisement, which stated that "at 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." Cars have varying degrees of sound deadening. There are, to my knowledge, no laws about it. In Ian's Rolls, you needed to drive with your eyes only. This calls for extra vigilance and caution. Couldn't rely on your ears for anything, really. So if you're riding a bike with headphones, it's the same game. That's how I approach it. Conversely, Having a law against headphone use on a bike is like having a law that says if you drive a Rolls you have to have a window cracked.