Listening to music whilst cycling might seem no worse than having the radio turned up in your car, but recently a row has erupted between road safety organisations and cycling groups over the dangers of wearing headphones whilst on your bike.
At the end of last year, the president of the motoring organisation the AA, Edmund King called for a campaign warning riders not to listen to iPods or personal stereos whilst they are cycling. His comments featured in the Times newspaper, alongside warnings that earphones were one of the factors behind a rise in the number of cyclists being injured on the roads, or colliding with (and injuring) pedestrians.
The AA later qualified these remarks made by its President as a more general attack on road users who don’t pay enough attention to what is going on around them. The distraction doesn’t necessarily have to be music through your headphones; crossing the road whilst wearing a hood was also mentioned as increasing your risk of being involved in an accident, as was using a mobile phone whilst driving – something which has been illegal in the UK since December 2003.
Injured in an accident caused by a distracted person?
If you have been unfortunate enough to be injured, whilst you’ve been out on your bike, in an accident caused by someone who hasn’t been paying attention to their driving, or to the situation around them, My Cycling Claims might be able to help. Our cycling injury lawyers are available to discuss making a cycling accident claim against the person responsible for causing your accident. We can also sort out any repairs to your bike, if it was damaged at the time.