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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
I was walking along in the drizzle yesterday, passed a young guy about
18yo, wearing headphones, who was crossing the road (single lane each way, divided by a median strip). A few moments later I heard a brief skid and a loud thud and turned around in time to see a shoe flying through the air and a Peugeot 605 grind to a stop. Amazingly the guy seemed more or less alive, he was sitting in the gutter and shaking, but not obviously bloody. The 605's windscreen was badly cracked. Passers-by called an ambulance which was there within minutes. Sounds really obvious I know, but still it hammered home to me how much we rely on our hearing, and I'll now make more of an effort to persuade my cycling friends that they should not use their walkmans on their daily commute. |
#2
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
"James Shugg" wrote in message om... I was walking along in the drizzle yesterday, passed a young guy about 18yo, wearing headphones, who was crossing the road (single lane each way, divided by a median strip). A few moments later I heard a brief skid and a loud thud and turned around in time to see a shoe flying through the air and a Peugeot 605 grind to a stop. Amazingly the guy seemed more or less alive, he was sitting in the gutter and shaking, but not obviously bloody. The 605's windscreen was badly cracked. Passers-by called an ambulance which was there within minutes. Sounds really obvious I know, but still it hammered home to me how much we rely on our hearing, and I'll now make more of an effort to persuade my cycling friends that they should not use their walkmans on their daily commute. Sounds very nasty. I wear a walkman on my commute and if you are safe and careful then there is no reason why not. I stop at every junction, look to make sure nothing is coming, look again before i cross etc. etc. No accidents to date. I have my walkman turned very low and can hear the traffic in any case! How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! Just my 2p worth ;-) |
#3
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
Lee must be edykated coz e writed:
I wear a walkman on my commute and if you are safe and careful then there is no reason why not. I stop at every junction, look to make sure nothing is coming, look again before i cross etc. etc. No accidents to date. I have my walkman turned very low and can hear the traffic in any case! How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! Just my 2p worth ;-) The difference in a car is that you are surrounded by a big metal box! -- Ian http://www.catrike.co.uk |
#4
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
"Ian" wrote in message ... Lee must be edykated coz e writed: I wear a walkman on my commute and if you are safe and careful then there is no reason why not. I stop at every junction, look to make sure nothing is coming, look again before i cross etc. etc. No accidents to date. I have my walkman turned very low and can hear the traffic in any case! How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! Just my 2p worth ;-) The difference in a car is that you are surrounded by a big metal box! -- Ian http://www.catrike.co.uk True enough but you can still be killed! |
#5
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
"Ian" wrote in message ... Lee must be edykated coz e writed: I wear a walkman on my commute and if you are safe and careful then there is no reason why not. I stop at every junction, look to make sure nothing is coming, look again before i cross etc. etc. No accidents to date. I have my walkman turned very low and can hear the traffic in any case! How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! Just my 2p worth ;-) The difference in a car is that you are surrounded by a big metal box! -- Ian http://www.catrike.co.uk True enough but you can still be killed! |
#6
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
Lee must be edykated coz e writed:
I wear a walkman on my commute and if you are safe and careful then there is no reason why not. I stop at every junction, look to make sure nothing is coming, look again before i cross etc. etc. No accidents to date. I have my walkman turned very low and can hear the traffic in any case! How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! Just my 2p worth ;-) The difference in a car is that you are surrounded by a big metal box! -- Ian http://www.catrike.co.uk |
#7
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have
the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! In addition, many (especially mid to top range) cars are deliberately designed to exclude outside noises. I wonder how much sympathy we'd get if we cycled around with ear plugs in. -- Rob Please keep conversations in the newsgroup so that all may contribute and benefit. |
#8
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
Robert Bruce wrote:
How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! In addition, many (especially mid to top range) cars are deliberately designed to exclude outside noises. I wonder how much sympathy we'd get if we cycled around with ear plugs in. Sorry, but that is still a wrong headed argument - sight important for driving hearing far less so (are the deaf banned from driving?). Hearing is FAR more important on a bike. pk |
#9
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
"PK" wrote in message ... Robert Bruce wrote: How is it different to a car driver having his radio on? There you have the noise of the engine, the radio and the fans all blowing!! In addition, many (especially mid to top range) cars are deliberately designed to exclude outside noises. I wonder how much sympathy we'd get if we cycled around with ear plugs in. Sorry, but that is still a wrong headed argument - sight important for driving hearing far less so (are the deaf banned from driving?). Hearing is FAR more important on a bike. Are the deaf banned from cycling? BTW have you ever heard anything from behind that is about to kill you and what action did you take to avoid it. You say "noisy thing behind"= danger - either you are under the false assumption that danger comes from behind, or that you make random changes in direction without looking behind. Hearing is useful - but you can hear tyre noise from a car 20 feet behind you with a radio on... .... and so what? do you make changes in direction without using your eyes? I'd hate to be a cyclist overtaking you! |
#10
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Wearing walkmans can be dangerous!
W K wrote:
BTW have you ever heard anything from behind that is about to kill you and what action did you take to avoid it. You say "noisy thing behind"= danger - either you are under the false assumption that danger comes from behind, or that you make random changes in direction without looking behind. That was just an example! But certainly a good one as even without a change of direction hearing someone coming form behind at speed when there is no room to overtake me, does put me on my guard. I would not choose to wear a walkman cycling. pk |
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