[media] TheAge (AU) Police warning for iPod users

As seen on digg.com

Makes no suggestion that the use of an iPod was of any significance in
Ms McMillan's death. Note the quotes attributed to her "friends".

I personally agree with the warning, and would *never* use my iPod
whilst cycling.

cite
Police warning for iPod users

* iPod blamed for Aussie's death

Police have warned that cyclists should never listen to an iPod while
riding unless they have a death wish.

"If you're a cyclist and you want to stay alive, I wouldn't wear an
iPod under any circumstances," Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Noel
Ashby told theage.com.au this afternoon.

Assistant Commissioner Ashby said police were seeing increasing
numbers of people using iPods on bikes, while walking and even while
driving a car.

"They're becoming increasingly popular and there's no issue with that
but the point remains you cannot hear what is around you," he said.

"People that have been brought up their whole life relying on a whole
range of human senses and if one's removed they are at a significant
disadvantage."

The alert comes after a 32 year-old Australian woman was knocked off
her bicycle and killed in London. Friends said she may have been
killed as she couldn't hear traffic noise over her iPod.

A friend of Ms McMillan's told London's Evening Standard she may still
be alive if she hadn't been listening to her iPod.

"She was obsessed by that thing," he said.

....

/cite

--
Alan J. Wylie http://www.wylie.me.uk/
"Perfection [in design] is achieved not when there is nothing left to add,
but rather when there is nothing left to take away."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

As seen on digg.com

Oops - forgot the link:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ipod--the-risks/2006/02/15/1139890771660.html

And on a related note:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/4718502.stm

cite

Warning on 'road sign confusion'

Drivers are in danger of having accidents because they are being
overloaded with journey information, the RAC Foundation has warned.

A clutter of contradictory signs cause confusion that can lead to
crashes, executive director Edmund King will tell a London transport
conference.

The popularity of in-car devices adds to this "overload", he will say.

/cite

--
Alan J. Wylie http://www.wylie.me.uk/
"Perfection [in design] is achieved not when there is nothing left to add,
but rather when there is nothing left to take away."
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I personally agree with the warning, and would *never* use my iPod
whilst cycling.
Whilst I personally do not agree and I do usually wear my Ipod while
cycling (responsibly and played at a low level).

"If you're a cyclist and you want to stay alive, I wouldn't wear an
iPod under any circumstances," Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Noel
Ashby told theage.com.au this afternoon.
Yeah [sarcastic tone] I wonder how many miles *he's* clocked up on his
bike this month.
Just cos he says so doesn't make it right. The thing is that 'common
sense' doesn't always equate with what happens in the real world.

"People that have been brought up their whole life relying on a whole
range of human senses and if one's removed they are at a significant
disadvantage."
So enclosing people in a steel cage with superb sound proofing
qualities is different and they, of course never listen to their
stereos, have sat nav calling out turns and speed cameras while
answering the hands free? That's the kind of sensory overload that
fighter pilots have years of specific training for and only a handful
are passed through.

The alert comes after a 32 year-old Australian woman was knocked off
her bicycle and killed in London.
It's NOT an alert, it's a knee-jerk reaction from people who should
know better.

Friends said she may have been
killed as she couldn't hear traffic noise over her iPod.
Again pontificating by people who don't know.
Have you ever been able to avoid a vehicle coming up behind you which
was going to run into you? By the time you've thought about what that
noise is, maybe sneaked an 'over the shoulder' you've been whacked.
Maybe you just guess whether to jink left or right, which one is it
gonna be? C'mon ..... too late... you're dead.

Note that I'm NOT saying that awareness to things happening around you
isn't important but that goes for ALL road users, especially those in
charge of potential killing machines.

A friend of Ms McMillan's told London's Evening Standard she may still
be alive if she hadn't been listening to her iPod.
She would maybe have been alive if she hadn'y been hit by a vehicle?

Robert

BigRab wrote:
Friends said she may have been
killed as she couldn't hear traffic noise over her iPod.

Again pontificating by people who don't know.

And hugely misleading pontificating at that. She was killed because she
was flattened by a truck; that much is fact. Everything else is pure
speculation.

No one has yet put forward any evidence to suggest that hearing the
truck would have made any difference. Until such evidence is made
available, I shall remain unconvinced of the iPod argument.

She would maybe have been alive if she hadn'y been hit by a vehicle?

You've got a damn good point there.

d.

Alan J. Wylie wrote:
I personally agree with the warning, and would *never* use my iPod
whilst cycling.

I quite like using mine (not a proper iPod - just some cheap MP3
player). I can't work the controls while I'm riding as it's too fiddly
to do safely and I have to make sure the headphones are just the right
length so they don't get caught on anything or make it hard to turn my
head.

With regards to noise, even with mine on quite loud, the sound from the
wind blowing over my ears and the noise of traffic both seem louder
than the music!

peter

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 07:26:37 +0000, Alan J. Wylie wrote:

"If you're a cyclist and you want to stay alive, I wouldn't wear an
iPod under any circumstances," Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Noel
Ashby told theage.com.au this afternoon.

Well he's clearly a pillock. I am a cyclist. If I choose to wear an
iPod under the circumstances of (say) reclining at leisure in my
living room, will I immediately be struck dead?

I expect he's one of those that thinks I must wear a helmet at all
times, too.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 12:18:42 +0000, davek
said in :

No one has yet put forward any evidence to suggest that hearing the
truck would have made any difference. Until such evidence is made
available, I shall remain unconvinced of the iPod argument.

Having for years sworn that wearing headphones while cycling is
dangerous, I now wear headphones (connected to an iPod) while cycling.
The noise-cancelling Sennheiser phones I use reduces wind noise to the
point where I can hear the music at quite moderate volume, I can hear
cars with no difficulty whatsoever and of course it helps me to keep
in tune as I sing, which improves the environment.

I guess this is yet another thing which *must* be dangerous because
otherwise cycling would be quite safe, and we can't have that sort of
talk.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote:


Having for years sworn that wearing headphones while cycling is
dangerous, I now wear headphones (connected to an iPod) while cycling.
The noise-cancelling Sennheiser phones I use reduces wind noise to the
point where I can hear the music at quite moderate volume, I can hear
cars with no difficulty whatsoever

So you may believe. Have you carried out any tests?
I would find it very surprising if your hearing were not restricted.
Wearing headphones also promotes the idea to other road users that
cyclists have no care for their own or others' safety.

and of course it helps me to keep
in tune as I sing, which improves the environment.

:-)

John B

I would find it very surprising if your hearing were not restricted.

Define restricted.

Mark Thompson wrote:
I would find it very surprising if your hearing were not restricted.


Define restricted.

Hearing less than if there were no headphones being used.

tt