Nanovanman

I use Bluetooth bone conducting headphones when riding by myself. They do not block my ears, I can hear ambient noise, and can answer a phone call using the built in mike, if I choose to. Wind can be a factor over 20-something mph.

Succhia Ruota

I'm glad I finished my lunch before seeing this.

mexipat

I have a twenty dollar Gonovate ear bud and listen to audiobooks on my rides. It's great for listening but the microphone wouldn't be good enough for your purpose.

FlRon

Here is the rule for Florida:s. 316.304 – Wearing of Headsets

(1) No person shall operate a vehicle while wearing a headset, headphone, or other listening device, other than a hearing aid or instrument for the improvement of defective human hearing.

(2) This section does not apply to:

(d) Any person using a headset in conjunction with a cellular telephone that only provides sound through one ear and allows surrounding sounds to be heard with the other ear.

(There are other exceptions that do not apply to bicyclists, other than police officers on bicycles.)

I see plenty of riders with earbuds in both ears here, which always causes me concern. What with the age of many drivers here I would think one would be on constant alert both visually and sonically.

mstateglfr 

Car radios are distracting from the job at hand. Navigation systems are distracting from the job at hand. Conversation with passengers is distracting from the job at hand.
It seems like an arbitrary point on the spectrum to decide that ear buds are distracting and shouldnt be used when there are direct comparisons being used in most every car every day.

tonymarch

Didn't read through all the posts, so I don't know if anyone said this already. I use Trekz Aftershokz Titanium headphones. They conduct sound via your jawbone, so you can hear all exterior noises when listening to music. Sound quality is OK, but volume is a little low. Small price to pay for being able to hear traffic, other cyclists, etc. while listening to music on the bike.

Succhia Ruota

Minor distinction: None of your examples of distracting activities physically cover the ears.

Seattle Forrest

If you wear earbuds while riding, even once, Satan himself will appear and plunge the world into a thousand years of darkness.

Seattle Forrest

None of the activities involve having sex, or physically covering your hands like a pair of gloves, either. What does having something in contact with part of your body have to do with being distracted, which is what people keep telling us is the danger here?

mstateglfr 

Distinction without a difference.

Listening to music in a car absolutely obstructs sound just like ear bugs can obstruct sound. You have the sound insulation of a car that reduces outside noise, then you add in the sound of music and you get a significantly reduced ability to hear anything outside the car.
The other examples are ones where other vital senses are obstructed in some manner. I listed them because the post I responded to mentioned the job at hand is to maintain safe control and be aware of hazards around them. It stands to reason that reducing any senses would negatively affect the ability to maintain safe control and be aware of hazards.

God forbid you wear a winter hat in a car while listening to music- eek the horror of what could happen from such limited hearing!

bpcyclist

The only thing I could hear in my car, driving as a youngster, was Robert Plant screaming.

Succhia Ruota

Distinction? Yes. Without a difference? Not if you're a LEO.

Edit: And yes, "ear bugs" definitely may obstruct sound. And cause a number of other issues probably.

Succhia Ruota

Absolutely.

Seattle Forrest

Bikes are invisible to police. I've never seen or heard of a cyclist being stopped for wearing ear buds. Have you?

Succhia Ruota

No, I have not. But then I responded to two posts from mstateglfr where he was talking about wearing them in cars.

And FTR, bikes are not invisible to police in my area.

WhyFi

I'm still wondering what benefits are magically provided by unobstructed ears. Moving over/taking the lane without looking? Zig-zagging down the road with merry abandon until you hear a vehicle approaching? Are we taking evasive action each time a car rolls by? Or only when our DareDevil sonar hearing, with ears that are optimized for hearing objects in front of us, picks up the subtle trajectory difference between a pass and a collision?

After that, then we just need to figure out how all of this is clicking when studies show that cyclists experience wind noise in the neighborhood of 85dBA at only 10mph and scaling upwards with increased speed.

Chasboy

the equivocation with an automobile is very weak and tired. On a 18-45 lb bike, all one has is first, their senses and secondly certain safety equipment. If one does not have a mirror and/or does not actively use it, then the only way you know a car except one that is incredibly quiet is behind you is by sound. If I hear that and have checked my mirror at least I have an idea of the fact that I’m being approached by something that outweighs me by at least 3000 lbs. I really don’t understand what is so important about the distraction of listening to music or getting a phone call that obstructs the few defensive senses we have when riding a bicycle which is subject to vehicle laws in my state. We are out in nature, breathing the air and improving our bodies. That should be enough.

mstateglfr 

When did I talk about wearing ear buds in the car while driving?

Succhia Ruota

Sorry if I was mistaken, but:

Were you not trying to make the point that there is no distinction between a variety of activities and wearing ear buds while driving in a car?

Seattle Forrest

I've seen bikes run red lights right in front of police in cars, who never batted an eye. I've never seen an officer stop a cyclist for any reason. For what it's worth. I wouldn't go trying to push my luck on anything, but I can't imagine them noticing earbuds and pulling a cyclist over for them.

Succhia Ruota

I've seen cyclists pulled over for a wide variety of reasons. Mostly, for running stop signs, not signaling, riding more than two-abreast... There's a neighborhood on one of our club rides where the LEOs like to lie-in-wait.

I've never seen a cyclist stopped for wearing earbuds. But then, I hardly ever see a cyclist riding with earbuds.

Jeff Neese

Well, there's really not much debate about it, is there? It's a very bad idea.

But it's good that it comes up now and then, for the new folks.

bpcyclist

This debate reminds me a lot of American politics, which also involves a lot of vigorous debate and very little consensus.

mstateglfr 

i cited ways in which we are all distracted to the job at hand when driving in vehicles and compared those ways to riding with ear buds.

I see no difference between all of them.

If hearing is vital to safety and not being distracted when cycling, then the same should apply when driving on the same roads. I argue that a car's noise insulation combined with radio and/or conversation in the car effectively makes both activities(again- riding with buds and driving with radio/coversation) equal in terms of ability to hear traffic.
Yet it's perfectly acceptable to drive in an exterior noise reduced vehicle(less noise is actually a luxury that we pay for) and play the radio.


How is this not tracking for you?

And ultimately, none of this even begins to address the reality that I cant hear much of anything at 16mph or above when riding even without buds in. Wind noise alone cancels out most noise on roads.

...but we all must have our ears available when riding even though they really arent needed for driving and not much can be heard when riding due to wind. Ha- this thread is full of brilliance.**

Seattle Forrest

Interesting. Thanks for saying as much. Here, I've seen junkies shooting up at bus stops, so I guess we just don't make the cut.