Accident victim's mother urges cyclists not to listen to music while they ride

I don't get the impression from his post that Simon was mocking dead cyclists - I can see how you could misconstrue it though, as some have. I certainly take his point that "iPod Zombie" stories are becoming a media staple… but they're not just about cyclists and the sad fact is that in a complicated world sometimes the iPod/MP3 wearing cyclist or pedestrian is going to be at fault when something bad happens. In this case the victim's mother certainly seems to think that wearing headphones was the cause of the momentary inattention that cost her daughter her life.

My teenage daughter insists on wearing headphones plugged in to her iPod despite me repeatedly telling her how dangerous it is… I've shown her this too. She, like the poor girl killed in Southampton, doesn't have the 20 years of roadcraft or handling skills that Jo or Dasy bring with them every time they throw a leg over their bikes. Likewise I doubt either of them go out on the road wearing headphones which really must cut of your hearing more than a pair of earbuds.

It wasnt black humour, it was lack(ing) humour. Unless you think mocking dead cyclists is funny. It isnt.

We've all met pedestrians who feel they can be selective with their senses and cross using their ears alone. They don't hear a car so don't bother to look right and then are surprised when you ride past their right shoulder. I have no problem with cyclists cutting off their hearing on the busiest roads in Europe - just as long as they expect no sympathy from me when they get in an accident. The world is full of those that think they're indestructable. If they're lucky they survive the truth.

Simon's comment - black humour. It didn't really warrant a PC tyre necklacing in my book. It was getting like the comments section on Youtube back there for a while! We're cyclists remember? The meek shall inherit the earth - if we're not all run down first of course. http://road.cc/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Yahoo!/smile.gif

Looking on satellite pictures of the area, the junction of Northam Road (not Norham) and Princes Street appears to be signal-controlled. Never mind all this listening-to-music distraction (presumably the lorry driver could have been listening to music too, not to notice the collision) - Who jumped their red light?

i've used a portable cassette/mini-disc/MP3 player (note lack of use of brand names) whilst cycling on the road, and in well over 20 years of independent testing i've not noticed it make any difference to cars pulling out on me at junctions, or how close they get when overtaking whether i'm wearing a portable music-playing device or not, nor have i noticed being "wired for sound" or not making any difference to my vision, whether that be by seeing things ahead so i can avoid crashing into them or looking over my shoulder before making any kind of manouevre

similarly people "not looking" or "being an idiot" is the same whether they're listening to music or not

Ok, so it was an attempt at humour Simon, it was hard to tell.
I nearly slammed into an ipod wearing zombie who stepped off the pavement in front of me a while back. Luckily I was on the brakes quickly. I also had another ipod zombie on a fixie slam into me when he tried to overtake a bus because he didn't bother to look and see I was already alongside him in the middle of an overtake - there was enough room for both of us but he swung wide because he was zoned out. And my wife clipped a pedestrian who was lost in music just a couple of days ago. Maybe you're not a zombie but I remain sceptical and it's certainly true that many are. I keep my ipod for when I'm sitting at my desk in front of my PC or for when I'm commuting by train and I don't use it when I'm on my motorbike or one of my bicycles or driving my car. Just because the Daily Hate prints a lot of lies about cyclists, it doesn't necessarily follow that the ipod zombie stories are untrue. You can put me in the anti ipod-on-the-move category and I'm on two wheels by choice more often than four - both competing and commuting - and I've done a lot of commuting in London traffic in the past 20 years. If I'm in my car and a cyclist or motorcyclist filters past, yes I get frustrated but only because Im envious and think I'd rather have been on two wheels which, let's face it, I much prefer.
And no, I didn't think your joke was funny.

I couldn't agree more Simon Mason, I seem to be getting a rash of infuriated car drivers having a go at me for filtering past them in traffic queues.

One managed to catch up with me after at least 40 seconds after I filtered past him in a queue, then wound his window down to shout at how irresponsible I was.

Car drivers seem to absolutely hate the speed and ease we can keep up and pass them in towns, so seem desperate to restrict us in whatever way they can.

In my experience, the anti i-pod mob are usually car bound people who on seeing a happy fit cyclist pass them in a jam, try and work out how cyclists should be controlled to make their journey as miserable as theirs are.

First on the list are helmets; make them ride around on a hot day with a big piece of polystyrene foam clamped to their heads. That'll wipe the smug grin off their faces.

Make them wear compulsory hi-vis with a reg.number on them so they can be traced.

No listening to music either, let them just hear the sound of car engines and road noise. Of course, drivers can yak away on bluetooth or have big booming stereos, no problem.

Make them pay a "road tax" and have insurance and MOT like we have.

Make them wait in traffic jams, no filtering either inside or outside.

No lycra either, make them ride in "normal" clothes.

They are not interested in our safety at all, just in adding more laws to control to us.

One can only assume that Simon Mason's comment is an ill-judged attempt at humour which, given the set of circumstances described in the news item, is in extremely poor taste.

It's bizarre that someone should think one type of portable music system should be less dangerous than another. Listening to music on the move is a potential hazard - my wife clipped a pedestrian who stepped out without looking in front of her bicycle just the other day

Are you suggesting that by listening to a none apple mp3 player whilst cycling has kept you alive? What happens when you read a news article of a cyclist killed listening to an i-river B30? Buy yourself a Zen? And then if that happens a Sony?

Are you serious? Do you think that by having an alternative brand of MP3 player to the ipod that you'll somehow not be distracted by it? What an ignorant and disrespectful thing to post.

That is one reason I never bought an i-pod as I kept reading stories of cyclists being killed by them. I opted for an i-river B30 instead as I have never read a news story of anyone being killed listening to one.

Another sad story of a poor cyclist killed by their failure to look which is somehow then blamed on their sense of hearing.