Listening to head phones

[Funderbird]

My buddy listens to his IPOD while riding...Is this a poor choice? I have a had enough time hearing other cars, much less listening to music when riding...What do you think?

[TrueFaith]

I think anything that distracts you while you are driving a motor vehicle is bad, especially if your driving a motor vehicle without a seat belt and side curtain air bags, like we do. I think it just reduces your chances to notice something, like a sound, that may save your life.

[ElChado87]

I sometime have tunes when i ride... It's probably not the safest choice to make, as any advantage helps. But it's also a personal choice, like driving above the speed limit. It may not be a legal choice, but a personal one nonetheless. Kinda like what safety equipment you wear.

I kinda think if I had music with my accident, maybe I wouldn't have been thinking the screech came from behind me, not in front of me. All I would have seen is the car, and not looked behind me, thus saving my butt. But this music justifying is a one-off case. And a vain self-justifying one at that

But on the highway? Hells yeah! Can't hear anything over the wind noise anyway, may as well go deaf from good cruisin tunes.



I guess the safest choice would still be no music.

[ofblong]

My buddy listens to his IPOD while riding...Is this a poor choice? I have a had enough time hearing other cars, much less listening to music when riding...What do you think?

depends. are we on the highway cruising at 70mph (speed limit where I live) or are we on country roads? Highway I wouldnt be against it but in the country anything can and will happen.

[Skier]

My buddy listens to his IPOD while riding...Is this a poor choice? I have a had enough time hearing other cars, much less listening to music when riding...What do you think?

If he's wearing combination ear plugs and ear phones, it's not too bad. If he's just plopping his stock earbuds on and jamming down the road, that's bad: he's significantly damaging his hearing.

As for detecting other vehicles, I don't know of any statistics or other numbers, but it seems a good guess music can decrease your ability to hear other vehicles.

[ElChado87]

Do you mean the style of earbud that has the rubbery ear pieces? They do block out extra noise so you don't need to crank it with them...

[Skier]

Do you mean the style of earbud that has the rubbery ear pieces? They do block out extra noise so you don't need to crank it with them...

Some of those are acceptable. Most don't block enough noise to avoid hearing damage and then you crank music over the wind noise, causing accelerated hearing loss.

[DireWolf]

I would think using any type of headphone or ear bud that replaces ambient sound while operating a vehicle of any kind would be dangerous.


---but I've never tried it. And, yes, my car stereo is generally up loud enough to drown out a car horn.

[Brackstone]

Do you mean the style of earbud that has the rubbery ear pieces? They do block out extra noise so you don't need to crank it with them...

Some of those are acceptable. Most don't block enough noise to avoid hearing damage and then you crank music over the wind noise, causing accelerated hearing loss.

Skier,

Do you have any suggestions as for what to buy? I'm looking into getting mp3/bluetooth sometime in the summer for my bike but I'm not quite sure what to look for.

I assumed noise canceling headphones are bad cause then you cant' hear the road around you. But you're saying noise canceling headphones are good because then you dont' crank the tunes too loud?

What about for around town driving, then wouldn't non-noise canceling be safer since you dont' have to crank it to fight the wind?

[yoman793]

i use my ipod and its little white headphones on the bike somethimes. the headphones are not very noise canceling so it is easy to hear traffic along with my tunes. the ipod fits nicely in the inside pocket of my riding jacket. it is probably not a good idea, or safe, but when im just cruisin to school and back, i sometimes bring it along.