walkman

Well it may not be under legislation or common law, but it is comprehencively covered under common sence.
Basically no. Do as you wish. think about what you are doing when combining 2x activities together at the same time (cycling & listerning to music) and modify you behaviour accordingly.

"Marx SS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well it may not be under legislation or common law, but it is
comprehencively covered under common sence.
Basically no. Do as you wish. think about what you are doing when
combining 2x activities together at the same time (cycling & listerning
to music) and modify you behaviour accordingly.

--
Marx SS

Don't want to wade into the flame spotlights, but I have done it for years
with no problems.

I'm not suicidal or lacking too much in commonsense (debatable). I will not
pit myself against a tonne of metal and plastic in the hands of a dubious
operator without being as aware of the situation as possible. I'll have the
walkman volume low enough that I can hear the traffic well. If the
situation calls for more caution (pedestrians about, crossings, etc) I have
no trouble tuning out the walkman. In fact, it's common for the tape to
finish/batteries run out/forget to turn on walkman and not notice it for a
while, which shows how much I can concentrate on my surroundings.

I find the music to be a welcome diversion when needed.

Obviously everyone is different and I find it works for me safely enough.
Still, it's not 100% safe and one day could be the difference between my
coming home or visiting a hospital for a bit. Or worse.

atacca said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I'm not suicidal or lacking too much in commonsense (debatable). I will not
pit myself against a tonne of metal and plastic in the hands of a dubious
operator without being as aware of the situation as possible. I'll have the
walkman volume low enough that I can hear the traffic well. If the
situation calls for more caution (pedestrians about, crossings, etc) I have
no trouble tuning out the walkman. In fact, it's common for the tape to
finish/batteries run out/forget to turn on walkman and not notice it for a
while, which shows how much I can concentrate on my surroundings.

I find the music to be a welcome diversion when needed.

<snip>

I guess listening to music would address one problem - cyclists who
don't shoulder check before overtaking, pulling out onto the road, etc.
A lot of runners do it too, and it pisses me off no end. If you've
slowed down until you've got room to pass, chances are someone else is
behind you doing the same, so it makes sense to check before overtaking,
etc

A few weeks ago someone brought up about people depending on hearing,
e.g. you hear a car, wait until it passes and then pull out into the
path of the second one. Well, if you've got a walkman on, you wouldn't
hear, so you'd be more likely to do the visual, maybe.

That being said, I still wouldn't do it.

T

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 31 Oct 2004 21:54:39 +1100

Marx SS said:

Well it may not be under legislation or common law, but it is
comprehencively covered under common sence.
Basically no. Do as you wish. think about what you are doing when
combining 2x activities together at the same time (cycling & listerning
to music) and modify you behaviour accordingly.

Can't see the problem myself.

If it takes all of your brainpower to ride a pushbike, even in traffic,
then I think you are definitely in need of training, or a complete
change in how you ride.

If you can't hear the traffic you are in over the earphones, then you
have the music so loud you will soon be deaf. (and I note that deaf
people seem to manage fine.... Perhaps they use their eyes?)

If you space out so much that you forget to use brain in traffic, it's
hardly the music's fault. It's the fault of the individual with so
little common sense.

And that someone may be that silly doesn't mean every one is.

Riding a motrcycle with a good helmet, I can't hear much over the
windrush, and that windeush is loud enough that earplugs are very
sensible in deed. And recommended by most trainers and researchers into
both noise fatigue and road safety.

If wearing earplugs doesn't make things dangerous, why does listening to
music on a pushbike? What are the dangers?

Zebee

On Mon, 01 Nov 2004 at 02:15 GMT, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

Riding a motrcycle with a good helmet, I can't hear much over the

Heh. I recognise you. Welcome 🙂

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
My other car is a cdr

Gerd said:

Next year I'am doing a bicycle-holiday in Australia. Are there any
rules in Australia (esp. SA, Vic, NSW and Qld) about using a walkman
with earphones while you are cycling?

Gerd

Generally no. However, some police will claim that you are committing the offence of "driving without due care and attention".

I listen to news on the radio on my daily commute as most mornings there is something relevant to my work. I use bud style earphones. I have earphones with an in-line volume control so I can keep the radio/walkman in my backpack and still adjust the volume quickly when needed. I only use one earphone and tape the other one with its cable back on the main cable to stop it flapping about.

SteveA

On Mon, 01 Nov 2004 02:15:48 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

If wearing earplugs doesn't make things dangerous, why does listening to
music on a pushbike? What are the dangers?

Because, even though both have two wheels, comparing bicycles and
motorcycles is like comparing apples and oranges. The main difference
being speed differential, so that on a motorcycle you aren't confronted
with passing traffic as often as you would be on a bicycle.

On a motorcycle, I rely mainly on visuals - mirrors and headchecks - but
on a bicycle (mainly through lack of mirrors) I tend to place quite a
high regard on the ability to hear, as well as head checks before
changing position.

Having said all that, in a car i find the passenger talking to me is
much more distracting than the radio playing.

---
Cheers

PeterC

[Rushing headlong: out of control - and there ain't no stopping]
[and there's nothing you can do about it at all]

Peter Cremasco said:

Because, even though both have two wheels, comparing bicycles and
motorcycles is like comparing apples and oranges. The main difference
being speed differential, so that on a motorcycle you aren't confronted
with passing traffic as often as you would be on a bicycle.

On a motorcycle, I rely mainly on visuals - mirrors and headchecks - but
on a bicycle (mainly through lack of mirrors) I tend to place quite a
high regard on the ability to hear, as well as head checks before
changing position.

on the open road the greater speed differential means I don't get to hear the car tires until its on top of me - as recently experienced when I was out of radio range. Not nearly as useful as a FLAT mirror.
Been remembering what I was like when I was younger, no earphones, just zoning out in my own thoughts. I find that open earphones distract me from my thoughts and leave me free to hear and concentrate on the riding. Any traffic or wind noise overwhelms the headphones, the cost is I can still hear voices but not always the words, sometimes a bonus.

Gerd,

The road rules differ slightly between the states. Your best bet is to
contact the State Governments. I looked up the Victorian Government Roads
Authority but could find no section that talked about bicycles and walkmans.
I think you may have to email them directly to find out. Their contact
details are available on the links below, plus lots of information about
cycling in different states. Here is the link to the Victorian site in case
you are interested:

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrne/vrnav.nsf/childdocs/-971763AFEB79BAF9CA256EC900144F1A-819EA0886CC7B15ECA256EC900144F2D?open

Other government sites include:

NSW
http://www.nsw.gov.au/
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/trafficinformation/bicycles/bicyclemaps/sydneymetropolitanbicyclemaps.html

QLD
http://www.qld.gov.au/
http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/cycling

SA
http://www.sa.gov.au/
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/personal_transport/bike_direct/index.asp

Hope this helps and enjoy your cycling holiday in Australia. Let me know if
I can be of further assistance.

Cheers,

Dennis

[email hidden]

Free email at: www.bendigoweb.com

"Gerd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Next year I'am doing a bicycle-holiday in Australia. Are there any
rules in Australia (esp. SA, Vic, NSW and Qld) about using a walkman
with earphones while you are cycling?

Gerd

Gerd said:

Next year I'am doing a bicycle-holiday in Australia. Are there any
rules in Australia (esp. SA, Vic, NSW and Qld) about using a walkman
with earphones while you are cycling?

Gerd

no law against it, just be sensible. I've been riding with my iPod for 2 years. It doesn't affect my concentration as far as I can tell, I use a Zefal mirror to check behind when overtaking anyway. I stop to change playlists, I pull the earplugs out when I'm riding in a group. Incidentally an iPod is much lighter and more convenient than lugging around a walkman and tapes or a CD player and CD cases.
regards
Professor Tournesol

ProfTournesol <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Gerd said:

Next year I'am doing a bicycle-holiday in Australia. Are there any
rules in Australia (esp. SA, Vic, NSW and Qld) about using a walkman
with earphones while you are cycling?

Gerd

no law against it, just be sensible. I've been riding with my iPod for
2 years. It doesn't affect my concentration as far as I can tell, I use
a Zefal mirror to check behind when overtaking anyway. I stop to change
playlists, I pull the earplugs out when I'm riding in a group.
Incidentally an iPod is much lighter and more convenient than lugging
around a walkman and tapes or a CD player and CD cases.
regards
Professor Tournesol

Thanks everybody for your advice. The poeple that are concerned about
my safety, I can assure I only use my walkman on quiet country-roads
and never in the city.

Gerd

Quoted message said:

Gerd said:

Next year I'am doing a bicycle-holiday in Australia. Are there any
rules in Australia (esp. SA, Vic, NSW and Qld) about using a walkman
with earphones while you are cycling?

Gerd

Thanks everybody for your advice. The poeple that are concerned about
my safety, I can assure I only use my walkman on quiet country-roads
and never in the city.

Gerd[/QUOTE]
Gerd,

our 'quiet country roads' are populated by such things as road trains (giant trucks with up to 3 trailers which travel at anything up to a highly illegal 160kmh) and interstate long distance trucks which may travel at similar speeds. Some of the trips these guys make take several days and the drivers can be very fatigued behind the wheel. So you need to take care there too.

But you will still enjoy your travel here

SteveA