Dangers of iPods on Cyclists and Pedestrians

This is something my husband and I encounter on our local bike/walk/run trail. Too often there will be people on their phones or their ipods who won't hear "Bike on your Left" and cause the cyclist to slow suddenly/dangerously or to swerve into oncoming pedestrian/cyclist traffic in order to avoid hitting the oblivious listener.

Perhaps a similar rule to the one sailors use (one hand for me, one for the boat) should be applied: "one ear for me, one for the road."

It's a very compelling ad campaign. I'm always impressed with Australia's campaigns, though. They are, after all, the people who brought you the "save water, shower with a friend" campaign ;-)

I think the ads don't have enough shock value.

The models look like they're sleeping, not like they've just been hit... no bruises, no limbs bent the wrong way, and no blood.

If I was an iPod fan, I would collect all these posters and put them up in my cubicle.

I plea double guilty.. not only do I listen to my iPod.. I also use ear enclosing beautifully brilliant sennheizer headphones (they shut out most of the surrounding sound... I still listen to music on my bycicle.. but at a lower volume (so the world isn't entirely shut out)... mostly because I did not hear an ambulance until it was right next to me... I just think people should be aware of the risk and should look around more when wearin ear or head phones... bbbut hten again I live in the Netherands with quite a lot of cycle lanes and protective legislation (the bigger vehicle is always wrong... that is in a colission with a cyclist or a pedestrian)

I don't think not being able to hear is the issue. The issues for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists are:

1. Not looking both ways before crossing the street, path, or intersection.

2. Not staying right except to pass.

3. Weaving or not moving in a straight, predictable line.

4. Not shoulder checking when changing lanes, turning, stopping, etc.

5. Sudden, erratic stops or direction changes.

6. Not preparing for the worst around blind corners.

I have invented a portable listening device that still allows you to hear what is around you. Hopefully it will be on the market soon, so this type of thing can be avoided!

Had this debate recently and ended up purchasing headphones that pretty much block everything out; my concern is not so much listening to music, it is all the loud noise on the street I'm trying to squelch.

However, there has to be a balance between awareness of our surroundings and hearing damage from lorry horns, bus engines, and metro noise.

Wow, where is the responsibility for the person driving the 2000lb killing machine? People have become so addicted to cars that now they are saying pedestrians need to not listen to music so they can get out of the way? I mean, don't pedestrians have right of way? If the people are walking right out into moving traffic without looking then that's not the iPods fault. That's just natural selection because those people aren't too bright. And as far as just on pedestrian cyclist trails, it's not that hard too slow down. If its narrow and I have to squeeze by I just come to slow speed and wiggle my way around. How is that so hard? This is just people being too impatient and in a hurry. And no, I don't own an iPod.

Eric,

It is very difficult to bike on a multi-use path when pedestrians:
(1) weave erratically
(2) have 'appendages' - like umbrellas, a dog on a 20' leash, an SUV-esque stroller, etc.

And the reason bikers can't jsut "slow down", "squeeze by", or "wiggle my way around" is because:
(1) This is VERY unsafe and often impossible to do that, and
(2) clearly you are not a bike COMMUTER. Try to keep in mind that the biker is not always on a sightseeing mission. When it is a commute, the forced "squeeze by" through the gauntlet is hugely annoying, when it takes so little for a pedestrian to step aside hearing a bike.

But most importantly, is for safety of everyone involved.

Soooo, am I allowed to ride a bike, drive a car, take a walk, etc. if I am deaf??? Following people's reasoning, seems to be so. As someone else mentioned (in much better detail) accidents arise from people not paying attention to their surroundings, not listening to a song.

Here's a better solution. How about drivers slowing down in pedestrian/cycling areas? How about lowering speed limits and ticketing drivers for speed or failure to yield? How about holding the car drivers responsible?

It's not the IPODs folks! In my town, they developed a lovely river walk with restaurants and shops. Usage was very high once finished and now no one uses it. When asked why, people across the board mention the few areas where they needed to cross a road in a crosswalk to continue along the river walk and how no drivers stopped.

Or, try this experiment. Put a duck (or dog, cat, goose, whatever) in the road and watch all the cars stop. Now, put a person in a cross walk and watch all the cars speed up, honk, and eventually hit him/her.

natural selection at work.

It's not just the blocking out of sound (or being deaf) it's that often the people in question are so wrapped up in what they're listening to -- be it an ipod or a cell conversation, or even the person they're power-walking with -- that they block out everything around them. Which is dangerous for everyone involved.

And Eric- you try squeezing by when you have to come to an almost complete halt and there are bikes coming at you and a woman with a stroller, a dog, and an ipod taking up the entire right lane. It's common courtesy that when a cyclist says "on your left" that the pedestrian make their best effort to move to the right to allow the cyclist to pass. This applies to anyone moving faster than the walkers.

I'll make it more pressing - a bicycle officer chasing down a mugger/attempted assaultist/whatever who has to slam on his brakes, weave, and avoid accidents - potentially allowing this person to get away - because someone on their ipod/phone/in their own world isn't aware of their surroundings.

Now - some guy walks into oncoming traffic and gets plowed down by a bus they didn't hear because they weren't paying attention? Darwin calls that survival of the fittest.

Although this is a sad truth, and I myself am guilty of blocking out surrounding sounds with my iPod; I must say that these adds are really cool, and are now saved to my computer. Ha.

While I too am guilty of walking around with my iPod & Grado SR60's, i do believe the term for such people is "podestrians".
As for cycling, never. People who choose to cycle listening to their music, as well as people who have those sneaky blue tooth pieces are not only annoying but hazardous.

I had a bike accident last year while listening to an iPod that resulted in a very seriously sprained thumb (required a visit to the hospital). Because my hearing was distracted, I turned too quickly and slipped when I suddenly noticed a car as I pulled out of a lane.

Now I don't ride with an ipod. Unless you are on a bike path, you need hyper awareness while mixing with cars (and pedestrians).

If I remember correctly from an article on this very page, the water usage in Australia has been significantly decreased last year, after the campaign they had, so I can't see how this can hurt, however, I think the criticism is misplaced.

We get 70% or so (feel obliged to correct me if I'm wrong, please) information from our eyes. Cars are getting much quieter, and I know that if the wind is blowing the other way sometimes it's hard to hear them until they creep up a few meters behind even when you're completely immersed in the information input.

Raising situational-awareness is much more important I think, a few readers made a good point, it's not like you're not allowed to ride or drive if you're deaf. When you sense what goes on around you, and keep track of it, then you can be safe...to the point of you not doing something stupid, there's still the drunk driver, rich daddy's kid barely-got-his-license in a turbo charged M3 that he can't handle, and xy other reasons you can't influence.

Trying to find a silver bullet argument never, ever works. We have a 0 blood alcohol level driving policy here since last year, because there were too many people killed by drunk drivers. They're reviewing the law now because there were more deaths than last year. Listening to an iPod while you walk around or ride your bike won't kill you, not paying attention to traffic and pedestrians is more likely to.

this very afternoon I witnessed a non-intoxicated, non-podded dude almost get wiped out at a local intersection that has taken lives in the past. what does it come down to? as already pointed out, this has zip to do with ipods but much to do with attention. so good on the nsw police and ddb for trying to be proactive about it.

but the real issue here at treehugger, i thought, is living sustainably in an urban (or not so urban) environment. is being numb to our environment via ipod / headphones / banging car stereo sustainable?

This is so true. I live in a college town in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States of America. On at least two occasions in the last two years, a college student has been hit and killed by a train while listening to their iPods. It is quite tragic, but nothing is being done to help prevent this from happening again. I can only hope that wisdom is gained from these tragedies.

Mikey and Emily,

I am a bicycle commuter, I don't own a car. and yes I have had to squeeze by or come to a complete stop, in fact I've had groups of people walking towards me with no iPods and see me still not move to the side to give a lil room to pass so I would have to stop and wait till the walked pass. So what, it's not torture to stop and wait a few seconds. It sounds like your problem is that you have the car driver mentality that if you are traveling fast you have to keep that momentum. If something slows YOU down it's in YOUR way. There are other people in this world that matter too, maybe you should slow down and sight see while you go to work. After all, that's one of the pleasures of not driving.

By the way Emily, the police chasing someone scenario doesn't work so well since I imagine the suspect they are chasing would be in front of them and so be blocked by the "weaving" (?) pedestrian. Even if the suspect did get by, that would alert the pedestrian to what's going on before the police got to them.

that's what I call natural selection. if you are not smart enough to watch out were you are going...too bad. remember idiocracy? our civilization is promoting brain dead behaviour..

Tragically, there is a surfeit of oblivion absent any modern technological distractions, such as music players and mobile phones. But these distractions do make things a lot worse.

I only use my iPod when seated during a mode of transportation operated by others, such as a bus, subway, or airplane, and even then only when I am alone. Human interaction always takes priority. If you live in a place where human activity is so overbearing that you need to block it out, you should consider relocating to a place where that is not so.

Compromise people. If every one was just a little more aware, pedestrians, bikers, drivers, everything would run a lot more smooth. I am a biker and listen to music while biking. This doesn't make me a poor biker. People who aren't aware of their surroundings need to wake up. As a child I was taught to look both ways before I cross into traffic. And imagine, I haven't been run over yet. Bikers are also suppose to be in the road and not on sidewalks with pedestrians. I understand that this isn't always the case, but maybe that is some of the problem. I yield to pedestrians because it is polite. Yes, it is great when they step aside and yield to me, but if they don't, I don't get all angry. You give some you get some people. Leave 5 minutes earlier to go to work. Then it isn't such a huge deal that you have to slow down a few times.

If music is really the problem, everyone who has ever been the cause of an accident while driving, everyone who has cut somebody off because they were in their blind spot, everyone who has ever done anything bad while driving should have their radios taken out of their car. . .oh wait. Thats everyone. How about we all stop blaming the other people and learn to live together. Compromise. Treat others how you want to be treated. Ever heard that before? Anyone?

I am amazed that no one has drawn this connection - cell phone use when driving and iPod use when cycling. There is a reason that you are not allowed to use a cell phone when driving and it is not because of the noise, it is because it divides your attention. The operation of a vehicle - whether it be a car, truck, or cycle - requires undivided attention, especially on the road.

Both me and my wife cycle around Oxford on a daily basis, neither of us use our iPods while cycling. Here in town, I find that cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers have two main problems:

1) Not following the rules of the road. This includes but is not limited to cycling on the sidewalk, walking in the middle of the road, and parking on the sidewalk/cycle lane. Like with many things, if people only followed the rules, many issues would be resolved!

2) As I mentioned above, the use of an iPod or cell phone distracts you. Not to sound draconian, but this also extends to playing with the car radio, talking to a friend, daydreaming, and (a big problem in Oxford) sightseeing - where tourist have their nose buried in a map and step into the road in front of taxis, cycles, buses, etc. If people paid attention more, then fewer accidents would occur.

I know that they may sound obvious, but it something that people need to be reminded of on a regular basis. We can all get along, with a little care!

iPod people are only annoying when they wear them even when they're not alone. Like when a friend is with them. I have this friend who wears his damn iPhone all the time, and he misses about 1/3 of what I say sometimes. When you're with friends, you gotta take that crap off, man. It's so disrespectful.

As for getting hit...well, not paying attention is the problem. I remember once I almost walked right into a pole because I was using my PDA. I wasn't listening to music, but I wasn't listening to anything. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and almost made a fool of myself. Furthermore, this pole was tall, dark, and a foot in diameter!

I can't tell you how many times I've seen some idiot driver trying to make a right on red without looking at the right. The moron looks only to the left. HELLO?? You don't think there are people coming towards you on your right who want to cross? Even though I have the right of way in front of the right on red driver, I never cross in front of them until I make eye contact.

When you're a pedestrian, driver, biker, you really have to keep your head on a swivel. Check every direction before you cross. Always - AND I MEAN ALWAYS - make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of their cars.

The Ipod has really come a long way ... you can now even buy sex toys accessories which link up to your Ipod. That's modern technology for you - always revolving and evolving.

I've ridden my bike in the city while listening to music, and have had no problems. I listen at a reasonable volume though so not everything is blocked out. Also, I use a helmet mirror (yes, I know it's dorky) so I'm visually well aware of everything that goes on around me.

I also drive a car sometimes. With the windows closed. And the radio on. I can't hear what's going on outside the car, save for sirens. Yet I do okay. So what's the difference between not hearing what's going on around you in a car, and not hearing what's going on around you on a bike?