I went out for a ride the other day and saw something odd. I observed one person on a bike with some ear phones on. As I continued my little trek I saw another...then another...and another. I said wait a minute what's going on here? I have always viewed it as a golden rule to not ride a bike with earphones on. I saw all sorts of cyclists mainly from crusier to recreational riders wearing earphones. I understand we are in the digital age of the ipod and the devices are getting smaller and smaller but wow..what's going on here? Has anyone else seen this in their communities?

This is a subject almost as controversial as helmets, and there are arguments about earphones on BF all the time. I rely on my ears too much to do this, but others wouldn't ride without music.

I'd guestimate half the commuter and casual cyclists I see are wearing headphones or earbuds these days -- it's legal in Washington State, the ban on headphones applies only to motor vehicles, and only to headphones that block ambient sound.

And of course not all headphone use is the same. I ride with a bluetooth headset that's specifically designed not to block ambient sound, and I keep my music at a low enough volume to hear my own drivetrain, so I have no trouble hearing overtaking traffic, except for a few miles of my daily commute that are on I-90, where freeway noise drowns out any individual vehicle.

I actually believe helmet straps are more of a hearing obstacle for many cyclists than reasonable headphone use -- have you ever noticed just how much wind noise a typical helmet creates at speeds over 10-15mph?

I was a railroad engineer for a few years. The public has no idea how many people were struck and killed by trains because they had on headphones/earbuds and couldn't hear them coming. On my section of track alone it was 2 or 3 a year that I heard of, and there were certainly some I didn't hear about. I never wear them unless I'm just sitting.

Anyone who persists on wearing earphones/earbuds while cycling, should be locked up in an insane asylum. Because it doesn't matter where they ride, they are just asking for trouble.

If cyclists don't want motorists killing them, they shouldn't be inviting that to happen.

Lock me up. I wear them on occasion and usually don't have the volume so loud as to obscure outside sounds. I can still hear better than I can in a car with all it's sound damping and with the radio going, and I certainly can hear much better than on my motorcycle. And although hearing can be helpful, my first line of defense in situational awareness aided by wearing and using a mirror.

And how is this inviting to get hit by a car? You might argue that riding in dark clothing and not using lights at dusk is inviting to get hit because it affects the driver's ability to see you. But riding with headphones, or while deaf for that matter, has no effect on a driver's ability to see and avoid you.

not being able to hear sounds around you does have an effect on your ability to be aware of cars. it can be mitigated but personally i use my ears a lot when bike riding. I also wouldn't want to be in the "zone" that good music can put you in, unless i was out on some empty road

i think if you keep the music low it probably doesn't have much of an impact on safety however

Cars aren't constantly being overtaken at massive closing speeds by vehicles that can crush them like a bug. And while I use a mirror when I ride, there's no way it's nearly as effective as the three wide-angle mirrors on a car. And yes, I use lights and high-vis, reflective clothing, but I don't pretend they make me as visible as a car at night.
I never wear headphones on the road. On a path, MUP or rail trail, I might use a single earbud, leaving my left ear uncovered to listen for overtaking cyclists. I just get creeped out if I can't hear what's going on around me.

then you are also saying anyone who is deaf should never ride a bike - as they have a death wish for motorists to kill them????

Deaf people don't choose to be deaf, unlike headphone wearers, who are handicapping -- and endangering -- themselves voluntarily.

LOL, this again? Just give it up now, we don't need another 15 page thread discussing it.

I don't have tunes on my bike, but I would have no problem with them on a long charity ride, where there's little traffic.

I think, for a trip on a bike path or something where there would be little need to hear things, it's fine. But for anything on the street that isn't a big ride (like what FunkyStickman ^^^ is talking about, I suppose), especially a commute, you should never wear them. You need to be totally aware.

Yes. I have nothing against deaf people. I even dated a (100%)deaf girl when I was in my freshman year of high school and learned sign language. But if she n' I had stayed together, I would have vehemently protested against any thought she might have had, about riding a bike.

I will admit that, that might work. But even on a charity ride, something sudden could happen, that a deaf individual wouldn't hear.

Around here we have more train/ped fatalities from cell phones than from headsets -- it's not the inability to hear an oncoming train, it's the distraction that prevents recognizing the sound of an oncoming train as a danger. Their ears pick up the sound, it just doesn't register that they need to get out of the way.

Give me the keys to your car and motorcycle, then I would gladly do it.

Regardless of how loud or soft the volume might be, your attention would not be 100% focused on the road.

As I mentioned before, it lowers the attention needed for being able to react suddenly, on the road, or on the sidewalk.

That too. I was actually out at sunset, tonight. I had my headlight, back light, helmet light and armband light all going, along with wearing my reflective jacket. That made me very visible.

It doesn't affect the motorist's ability to avoid the cyclist. But it does weaken the cyclist's ability to react suddenly to the motorist.

What?!

Yea sorry to re open a old can of worms. I recently got back in the saddle and saw this going on around me. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I did mean headphones as in "earbuds" lol. I guess that's what they officially are now hehe. At any rate, I was just trying to get a general feeling how that is viewed in today's standards.

when i see threads like this it surprises me that some of you even "risk" riding a bike to begin with. do you wear knee/elbow pads too?

do i ride with headphones? yes (but only when solo and at a low volume)
am i more likely to get hit by a car? slightly.
will i be legally at fault if i get hit? probably not (it will probably be because they did not see me)
does this increased chance make me think twice about my habit? no
does what you think/say make me second guess my choice? no

@ thirdgenbird I agree that everything has its risks. I think the safety issue at hand is cyclists need their hearing more than anything. If their hearing is reduced is your safety? I am afraid to see people start saying accidents are the cyclists faults because they cant "hear". It's bad enough they are already saying cyclists are running into them, etc.

Again, I am not passing judgement on anyone who wears earbuds when they ride. I was just surprised to see so many wearing them now.

I ride with and without. When I ride where there are many people I don't wear them. When I ride at night at the park where I am the only one I wear them. On some other bike paths I wear them but put behind my ears so I can still hear the music but the sound of the world is primary. I think done responsibly (this the key here, right?) there is little danger. Heck we have some bikers riding on roads during busy times holding back traffic and that's generally accepted (It's legal, right?) but I'd say it is far more dangerous. I'm not saying one justifies the other but... anyways....

I ride my bike to enjoy my music. If I didn't have my music I'd ride far less.

i appreciate your sensibility on the topic and was not offended by my sarcastic humor

honestly, i rely on my sight way more than my hearing. my guess it is how we have trained ourselves to ride. my tendencies are undoubtedly due to my stint riding a motorcycle where hearing is at a minimum (wind, exhaust, full face helmet). i always look over my shoulder before entering intersections and keep the volume low. in "busy" areas i flip one or both buds out of my ears. when in, i can hear cars coming up behind me and i can hear the rare "on your left" before i get passed.

i would not recommend earbuds to everyone and have had to yell to get the attention of cyclist/walkers that had them too loud. that said, i have had to yell to get the attention of walkers not wearing them. day dreams are probably the worst distraction.

Since hearing is SO critical to cyclist safety, I guess it is time to demand federal regulations putting noise makers on those very quite electric and hybrid cars.

Look at it this way:

If they manage to get themselves killed doing someting stupid... why should you really care?

Really they're just doing what nature already had planned for them, except without the help of a lion, tiger or grizzly bear.

i don't listen to music on my bicycle, but despite this I still rely nearly 100% upon good old trusty visuals. i ride fixed and on the road and street, often in car-door country, and therefore i'm looking out all over the shop.

i rely upon motorists to not smash into me from behind. if i stopped riding or pulled over for every car i hear revving behind me I'd never get anywhere i think that means i'm in the habit of ignoring sounds from behind me.

as a cyclist here's something that troubles me more: pedestrians that solely rely upon their hearing before stepping out onto the road.