Oz mag set out to find out if "iPod wearing zombies" heard more or less than motorists with their windows up or music playing.
Ride On magazine of Australia has discovered that cyclists listening to music or podcasts while riding hear more ambient traffic noise than motorists listening to an in-car stereo or even listening to nothing at all. Cars - with windows up - are inherently sound-proof.
Equipped with a decibel meter ("and a synthetic model ear specifically created for us by our regular collaborator at RMIT Industrial Design, Dr Scott Mayson") Ride On magazine measured the traffic noises that could be heard by cyclists wearing ear buds and motorists listening to music or no music at all.
"With the ear-bud in our synthetic ear but not playing music, we measured the ambient traffic noise at 79dB. With the in-ear earphones, the traffic noise was 71dB," states Ride On.
"We quickly established that cars are remarkably soundproof. We measured the average peak of ambient traffic noise inside the car (with the motor running) to be 54dB, which is 26dB quieter than outside the car. We rang a bike bell right outside an open car window and measured it from in the car at 105dB. With the window closed, the same bell registered just 57dB."
The magazine stresses that for cyclists to hear ambient noise through their ear buds the music or podcast being played must be set at a "reasonable" volume.
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"Using our own taste as a guide, we established that a reasonable volume for listening to music through our earphones while riding at our location was three clicks down from the maximum volume of our iPod, which turned out to be 87dB; greater than the average peak of the ambient noise."
Ride On measured what cyclists could hear and what motorists could hear, and discovered that motorists can hear very little outside of their cars. Ride On found this "startling."
"Our driver was unable to hear our tester, stationed 10 metres away, calling out “Passing”, or the bike bell. Without the car stereo on it was just possible to hear the call and bell; it registered at a similar level to having the in-ear headphones in."
The magazine concludes that "a bike rider with ear-bud earphones playing music at a reasonable volume hears much more outside noise than a car driver, even when that driver has no music playing."
Furthermore, "a bike rider with in-ear earphones playing music at a reasonable volume hears about the same outside noise as a car driver with no music playing, but more than a car driver playing music."
Contrary to the mainstream media myth that cyclists (and pedestrians) who listen to music on the go are "iPod wearing zombies", Ride On finds that "ear-bud earphones set at a reasonable volume still allow riders to clearly here the warning sounds of other riders."
In January, the AA issued a press release urging cyclists and pedestrians - and drivers - to pay attention to the road rather than be distracted by music.
Edmund King, AA President, said: “We can’t stop the march of technology but we need to halt the iPod pedestrian, cycle and driver zombies. Whether on two feet, two wheels or four, too many people are suffering from iPod oblivion.
“When on the move our brains have much to take in and using technological gadgets means that our brains can’t always concentrate on so many things at once. This is when we walk into traffic; don’t hear the truck or drive cocooned from the outside world.
”The US research suggests that this problem may be growing so we all need to use common sense to ensure that technological cocooning doesn’t endanger our lives or the lives of others.”
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7 comments
What a stupid piece of research...the point is that motorists are in a BIG sealed metal box and cyclists are vulnerable, a comparison of who can hear what is obvioiusly meaningless. The same goes for joggers or general public walking with headphones in, they can't hear a big metal box coming, doesn't matter what the driver can hear, he's going to win everyday. Try arguing who could hear more when you're in a small wooden box. Hope they didn't get paid for this research!
billy hunt Jul 10th 2012 at 9:45AM
1 1Do you therefore believe deaf people should not ride bicycles?
Carlton Reid Jul 10th 2012 at 12:07PM
1 1!?! Err comment was about worthless research, what difference does it make what the car drivers can hear relative to the cyclist? If everyone wants to be on the rode with impaired hearing of varying degrees it's fine by me, many of us do have impaired hearing as we get old, which in itself impacts upon the research as well!
billy hunt Jul 10th 2012 at 12:27PM
1 1Yes, I agree this is a daft bit of research. So what if iPod-connected cyclists are as deaf as motorists with the windows up and the stereo on? It doesn't make it right. I do many questionable and some would say dangerous things on a bicycle, but I keep as alert as I can, and I would never ride in traffic listening to loud music through headphones. For the deaf, I assume the other senses are turned up to full sensitivity to make up for the loss of hearing... ride a bike listening to loud music and you're putting yourself in real danger.
David Henshaw Jul 10th 2012 at 1:47PM
0 1Of course the 'study' is spurious: it hasn't been ear-reviewed.
Carlton Reid Jul 10th 2012 at 2:29PM
1 1There are 2 key pieces of safety kit for all road users, and all come ready fitted - free. Eyes are both a means of seeing a hazard and a means to communicate with another road user make this the only contact you make with another road user. Ears compensate for the fact that Eyes only work over an angle of 120 degrees, and this reduces as speeds go above the evolved design speed for homo sapiens - 20mph. Ears are 360 degree operation and all professional drivers drive with a window open - it has saved me from a few crashes when I've heard tyre noise or engine noise and the source has been in the mirror blind spot. It is very telling to read that the 3 investigations into fatal cyclist rail vehicle cfrashes all indicate that earphones were in use by the victim (and usually the hood up) An open window also helps to spot ice on the road
Dave Holladay Jul 12th 2012 at 11:11AM
0 1If the people wearing headphones and listening to music in the research had musical preferences anything like mine, they wouldn't be able to hear anything at all ;-)
David French Jul 17th 2012 at 8:55PM
0 0