- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Cyclist with earbuds - copyright Simon MacMichaelTwo thirds of road users say cyclists should be banned from using headphones, claims survey
More than two thirds of road users in the UK support a ban on cyclists wearing headphones while riding their bikes, according to a new survey conducted among 35,000 road users across 32 countries worldwide – with a British road safety charity describing them as “the ultimate distraction.”
The E-Survey of Road Users’ Attitudes (ESRA), whose partners include governments and national road safety associations, found that across the sample as a whole, 65.8 per cent of respondents backed such a ban, including 68.2 per cent of respondents in the UK, wiith around 1,000 people quizzed in each country. We don't know if respondents were asked whether listening to music while driving should also be banned.
In Europe, support for a headphones ban was highest in Spain, at nearly 80 per cent, and lowest in Finland, at 36 per cent. Countries with the strongest cycling cultures such as the Netherlands and Denmark saw a small minority of road users in favour of a ban.
Globally, more women than men were in favour of a ban while by age, 18-24 year olds were most opposed to such a measure, with 53.5 per cent of that age group worldwide expressing support, but only 44.1 per cent in Europe.
Neil Greig, Policy and Research Director at the road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, commented: “It’s clear that the majority of road users are very concerned about distracted cyclists wearing headphones or earbuds while riding. These findings were consistent right across the world in this substantial survey.
“Being plugged in to either headphones or earbuds is the ultimate distraction, as it completely shuts you off to your surroundings, creating a potential road safety risk to yourself, pedestrians and other road users around you. This is even more critical with the popularity and increasing prevalence of noise-cancelling equipment.”
He added: “There are plans to update the Highway Code being discussed as we speak, so now is a great time to have an informed debate about the best way for cyclists to avoid potentially fatal distractions.”
In fact the consultation to planned changes to the Highway Code closed last month, with no reference in the Department for Transport’s proposed new wording made to banning headphones and similar audio equipment for cyclists or other road users for that matter.
The Highway Code does, however, say that both motorists and cyclists should avoid distractions, with listening to music at excessive volume, for example, potentially falling into that category.
The government has however consistently rejected calls for cycling while using headphones to be banned – including one in November 2013 from Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, after the deaths of six riders in the capital although he did not cite any evidence of audio devices being a factor in those fatalities.
> Government “will not legislate” for Mayor of London’s cyclist headphone ban
In 2018, researchers in the Netherlands published research which found that wearing headphones while riding “negatively affects perception of sounds crucial for safe cycling.”
> Dutch study: Using headphones “Negatively affects perception of sounds crucial for safe cycling”
The authors of the study suggested that cyclists listening to music or talking on their phone in a country with less cycling infrastructure than the Netherlands might be more at risk.
Commenting on that study, Duncan Dollimore of Cycling UK said at the time: “Our view is that wearing headphones is inadvisable, particularly if listening at high volumes or with headphones that completely shut out sound, but the idea that headphone wearing cyclists are any more of a problem than headphone wearing pedestrians is not borne out by any evidence we have seen.”
Whether or not to wear headphones while riding is of course a matter of personal choice, with some taking the view that listening to music can distract from what is happening around them.
Others, however, insist that they are able to maintain awareness of their surroundings while wearing headphones, and that banning them would be similar to saying that deaf people are not allowed to ride bikes.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- David9694 2 hours 15 min ago
I hope you're all checking your insurance policies, helmets, test certificates and road tax, it's the 2024 round-up...
- check12 3 hours 55 min ago
200 people out of a close by population of how many? Just build it and stop being a wuss
- Spangly Shiny 5 hours 28 min ago
To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
- Rendel Harris 7 hours 49 min ago
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
- Rendel Harris 8 hours 37 min ago
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
- bikeman01 10 hours 16 min ago
I love how wannabe racer reviewers talk about fork flex under braking like their tyres are made of glue. I find traction gives long before fork flex.
- hawkinspeter 11 hours 23 min ago
They don't make them like they used to
- LongitudeLatitude 12 hours 14 min ago
Thanks for using my picture of chocolate in your opening picture. The original can be found here, chocolate! | LongitudeLatitude | Flickr.
- lesterama 12 hours 41 min ago
Fair comments. I'll put my hands up and say I got the wrong end of the stick with this one. ¡Feliz navidad! Here's a pic for the season of goodwill.
- Mike Holmes 12 hours 45 min ago
A trip down memory lane (or street) for me - Harry Quinn's bike shop was at the top of our Street and I used to spend time staring at the bikes and...
Add new comment
97 comments
Agree that they are annoying & I never wear them, but the next stage would be for cyclists to call for a ban amongst walkers/runners!
These people - and anyone who has a similar opinion - should be ashamed of themselves.
It's perfectly possible to cycle/run/walk/drive while listening to music or whatever and/or wearing headphones/earphones. I don't wear anything on/in my ears when I cycle or drive, that's my preference, but I can't really hear anything when I cycle due to wind noise. I'm fairly sure headphones/earphones would actually help me hear and probably heighten my awareness of what's around me.
This insidious opinion is equivalent to stating that deaf people should not be allowed to use the roads. It's insane and you should really have a word with yourselves.
I choose not to listen to music whilst cycling.
I do use one earphone to listen to GPRS mapping – safer in my view than looking at a screen.
I would hope all road users would consider deaf people have a right to cycle – expecting them to drive accordingly may a too much of a hope!
I do not expect a noise-filled, sound-insulated, modern car – windows closed – to hear me.
I certainly do not expect a truck driver, bus driver, tractor driver, etc. to hear me.
I do not hear electric cars.
There are probably too many “I’s” here, so that is enough from me!
When they ban drivers from turning on a sound system in their vehicles, then they can discuss banning cyclists and pedestrians from wearing headphones.. and if not being able to hear properly is a reason to not walk, cycle or drive, then deaf people should not be allowed perform those activities.
Lets ban radios in cars, and all those other distracting gadgets.
FTFY!
Seriously, just as distracting as music while cycling/walking/running, and probably more isolating because it's in addition to the sound-deadening effect of the windows.
Going down hill 30, the wind seems to stifle out what I can hear. Supposedly helmets make it worse [citation required].
I'm not sure what posters make of the elderly whose hearing is impaired. Perhaps they should stick to their partially sound proofed cars
I bought one of those Thousand helmets a while ago (was feeling extravagant) and tbh its not as comfortable as I'd thought it would be. But one fun fact about it: it whistles, properly whistles, when I go above a particular speed. Must be something to do with the positioning of the ventilation holes...
Cycling has some disadvantages over other forms of personal transport but also many advantages. In traffic and compared to a car these advantages include greater height, a better view and not being isolated from the audio environment. Why anyone willingly gives up any of these advantages is beyond my understanding.
However...
In the abscence of any compelling evidence that wearing headphones increases risk for either the wearer or anyone else, whilst drivers particularly continue to labour under the impression that it is other road users who need to modify their behaviour and with the number of edge cases (bone conducting headphones, one earbud only, hearing aids, hearing impairement, using earplugs for any reason or just cycling round with an old fashioned ghetto blaster strapped to the bars) banning headphones whilst cycling seems both impractical and a diversion of road safety effort away from behaviours that are demonstrably responsible for death and injury.
Drivers don't want cyclists to wear headphones, so the cyclist is fully aware when they lean on their horn or shout abuse
I wear earbuds mainly to block any abuse and horn tooting that some yobbo's like to inflict on cyclists; I'm also prone to earache from cold air and earbuds prevent that.
You need to look at your cycling if you are being constantly honked at.
Remember, if you ran into an asshole, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.
Also, those going on about cars, completely different isolation scenario. Having a background noise in a car is not the same as pumping sound into sealed earbuds.
I never wear earbuds, a) messes with my equilibrium slightly and b) I don't want to constantly surprised when cars come past. Each to their own though.
Isn't it just. On the rare occasion that I listen to a podcast whilst cycling I can hear what's going on around me. When sealed in a car it takes a siren or horn etc to cut through.....
I agree, I dissagree with the "road users" pool, I'm pretty sure they are motorists. but I agree, they should be banned
When people say " it should be banned!" it's frequently cos of bee under bonnet rather than actual considered benefit analysis.
If the principle is that loss or reduction of hearing significantly contributes to collisions, then those figures must be presented to demonstrate this point (I haven't seen any, but I'll bet that it's negligible)
If it is demonstrated, then the principle applies across the board and not to just one group - riders, horsists, walkists, drivists, scootists.
Frankly I find it hard to believe that listening to music causes any more distraction risk for a rider than it does a driver, only with far less attached outcome severity, to others at least. Third party safety outcomes are immeasurably better with cycling than driving. As for awareness of what is around you, this must be so for drivers too - I for one roll my eyes when I can identify what crap "music" some idiot is playing, at a further distance than I can read their number plate
Rules/bans need to be applied on a strict risk/benefit basis, and applied across the board. Without that, we end up with a mishmash of illogical and conflicting legislation, resulting in inconsistent enforcement and perverse outcomes.
There's a lot of nonsense about this topic appearing on here. I don't listen to plays/ science/ documentaries while cycling any more but I'm certainly not criticising anyone who does, or urging them to desist. These close passes occur in a moment, and the really bad drivers come past very fast, cross double white lines in very dangerous situations etc. etc.. Earphones make no difference to those.
Riding with headphones is just stupid.
They don't hear me when I scream: ON YOUR RIGHT and ride right into my lane.
WTF? Is that the same kind of people who thinks that riding in the dark without any lights is OK?
Not really the same. One thing alerts vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians to your presence, the other doesn't. Maybe I'm being a pedantic?
I do ride with earbuds BTW, have done for years. They keep me company as I'm not a fan of group rides. So far so good....
Well, I consider earbuds the same things as sunglasses in the dark.
Technicaly you can ride like this. But it's just dumb.
It's my pesonal opinion as a cyclist.
A deaf person is equivalent to a partially sighted one? Interesting.
In your personal opinion, would you consider it to be dumb for a deaf person to cycle?
Answer the question put to you Farage, answer the question put to you.....
Well ain' that tolerant of you...
And there is the point. "deaf people are perfectly entitled and well equipped to cycle." Eg, it doesn't matter that much for cycling.....
Why on earth did you try to draw an analogy to sight impairment? Trouble with analogies is they break down eventually. Or sometimes immediately.....
What a stupid post.
Please justify this assertion, with evidence preferably instead of handwaving arguments.....
There's a road safety campaign you may have seen called Fatal Four. It focuses on the 4 most common causes of road deaths - inappropriate speed, using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and drink / drug driving.
Where would cycling with headphones come on the list? Would it even be in the top 40?
I'm not sure any of those four are as big a killer as inattention; failing to give the complex, demanding job of driving the respect and concentration it deserves. Mind you, I'm not sure what a graphic for that would look like.
This smacks of populist bull poop if you ask me.
I'm not aware of any highlighted issues with music listening cyclists either suffering higher crash rates, or indeed being wiped out more frequently by other road users.
Until such a time that an issue is recognised, why is this even a discussion topic?
My opinion however, is that anyone relying on hearing for their road safety is pushing their luck.
I see comments about being aware of approaching motorists, but I ask why is that important? What difference does it make? How many times have you jumped out of the way of a rearward approaching vehicle? If you change road position because you hear a car coming, I ask why does your road position need to change in the first place? If that is because you ride more outwardly when you can't hear traffic behind, then you are probably pushing your luck more than the dude listening to euro trance.
Hmm probably ~1/20-40 approaching vehicles will result in me changing my road position...
Almost always moving more central to make it clear that there isn't enough room when a vehicle is roaring up behind that will be dangerous regardless (but is far more likely to abort overtaking if I move out...)
> We don't know if respondents were asked whether listening to music while driving should also be banned.
I suspect we can have an accurate guess.
Pages