I do kind of wish they would do that here - it seems to be more common now to see drivers and cyclists (and motorcyclists too) with headphones in.
I think it’s perfectly possible to safely wear headphones on a bike. I’m all for banning people for doing things that are dangerous, but I don’t really like the idea of banning things that can be done dangerously simply because there’s less discretion required to police that than the actual dangerous things.
and what, precisely is the practical difference between an earphone and a speaker pressed against the ear. do they not both block ambient noise to a similar level? or is this a case of wanting to ban drivers but having to be seen to be fair and including bikes too?
I can understand the latter but to allow speakers makes a mockery of it.
But I am glad we can still have some tunes while we ride.
I really don’t see what the issue is with having headphones in while riding. As long as it’s not too loud I can hear everything going on around me. Okay I can’t understand people talking to me traffic light s but in Terms of road safety I don’t see a problem.
and what, precisely is the practical difference between an earphone and a speaker pressed against the ear. do they not both block ambient noise to a similar level? or is this a case of wanting to ban drivers but having to be seen to be fair and including bikes too?
It’s not precise, but I’m definitely less aware of what’s going on with earbuds than I am with speakers. I’ll stop on the way into towns to take earbuds out, but if I’m using a thing with helmet speakers I’ll wait until I’m about to need to filter.
Some people can’t hear me when I call to them to get their attention. Or don’t hear me nearby.
I’m all for the ban, to stop idiots like these, they basically lose one of their senses.
Why are you calling them to get their attention?
And is it worth the loss of being able to do it safely (or even in such a way as to improve safety, like on long and dull motorway journeys) so that these people cannot carry on ignoring you? Would their not having earphones make them into safe road users?
If you use good fitting ear plugs to protect your hearing then you still can’t hear everything around you. I use earphones a lot, just makes me look more.
From experience if I have them on full blast, I can´t hear shit around me… I can understand the ban. Not that I agree with it
I only have music on when doing dull motorway rides when you just need to get somewhere and occasionally for the satnav on my phone when I don’t have my Tomtom with me.
To have a blanket ban is just stupid on motorcycles. How’s it different from having a car stereo at full tilt?
@Nivag “How’s it different from having a car stereo at full tilt?”
It’s not and that’s now a fine-able offence, if it’s deemed to be loud enough to prevent you from hearing surrounding traffic
Well there goes my added enjoyment of riding through France. Nothing like a bit of AC/DC or such like while enjoying the sites and empty roads on route to Le Mans. I will just have to refrain from head nodding to the beat lol
So what about professionally made ear plugs? these block out loads of noise but not all of them have speakers in them.
For me actaul ear bud style headphones really hurt with a Helmet on and the lead is very restrictive at times so i’m ever conscious they are there,whereas my bluetooth headset in my lid is completely unoticeable and no distraction at all, i can also hear everything around me as my lug holes aren’t blocked
I’m not sure where the new laws stand on earplugs, foam or moulded, no-one I’ve spoken to over there seems to know.
I always ride with music, I find it calms me; when I first started riding I refused to wear them as I thought they would distract me but I find the wind noise, constant horns going off etc are more of a distraction, at least in London.
I wear headphones inside my helmet every day in the morning, helps me get aware quicker before the coffee kicks in, not blasting anything at full volume obviously, i want to be able to hear whats going on around me but it gets all the sparks flying, on the way home i don’t bother though.
I hope they don’t decide to do it here. I use my headphones with the satnav on the phone when I need to get to new destinations, can’t imagine doing it any other way. Never listen to music though, the noise of the engine is good enough for me.
Also, how is having earphones in different to having earplugs? Sound producing or not, they all block out noise.
They must have an awful lot more traffic cops than we do if they’re able to enforce all these laws.
Has this been enforced in the UK yet? Someone (in a car mind you) stopped my husband at a service station the other day when he saw him putting one earphone in before getting on his bike and said it’s illegal in the uk and he was busted by a cop on his bike with headphones in and fined. I can’t find any law surrounding this?