Originally Posted by Sawtooth

I doubt you dislike being lumped into that category any more than I dislike being lumped into that same category just because I wear headphones. The symptoms you describe above are likely statisically unrelated to the wearing of headphones at a reasonable volume.

Just because a cyclist does not cowardly yeild the lane when a passing car is approaching does not mean that he did not hear it. It is not always safe or practical to do so.

My guess is that the evidence would show that listening to headphones has almost no impact on the type of weaving you describe. In fact, in my case, headphones played at a reasonable level actually improve my hearing of road noises as they cut the deafening wind noise. I could certainly see how someone who has no experience cycling with headphones would not believe that.....but it does not make it any less true.

Unfortunately, the majority of lawmakers in this country seem to think (as you seem to think), that opinion and emotion are adequate substitutes for empiracle evidence when creating policy to impact the freedom of others.

I once had a Business Law professor that would start almost every class by saying "NEVER FORGET THAT EMOTION, NOT FACTS, DRIVES THE REGULATORY CYCLE".