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Video: Cyclist collides with headphone-wearing runnerCyclist collides with headphone wearing runner - image via LiveLeak

Video: Cyclist collides with headphone-wearing runner

A very real demonstration that wearing headphones can be dangerous whether you're a cyclist or a runner...
by Elliot Johnston
Sat, Jun 04, 2016 12:35
34

The dangers of cycling while wearing headphones have been widely debated here at road.cc. We don't often talk about the dangers of running while wearing headphones though; we're not a running website after all.

This, though, is an indiscriminate example of the dangers of depriving yourself of one of your most valuable senses. It doesn't matter whether you're a runner or a cyclist, if you're a vulnerable road user, you're going to need all the help you can get - especially from your own ears.

This video was uploaded to LiveLeak the day after the incident took place. The cyclist in the video, whose identity is unconfirmed, gives the 'on your left' call to warn the runner of his presence.

Either due to the runner's use of headphones, or the low-volume warning issued by the cyclist, the runner doesn't check for traffic before making a surprise left turn into the cyclists path.

- Read more: Nine in ten people back cyclist headphone ban

The fall out is noisy and sounds painful, though there are no details about injury to the runner, cyclist, or the bike.

We hope all make a full recovery and explore alternative options - like bone conducting headphones - for listening to music while exercising.

- Read more: road.cc's Aftershokz Bluez 2 bone conducting headphone review

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34 comments

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to L.Willo | 8 years ago
4 likes
L.Willo wrote:
Housecathst wrote:

Do we as cyclist hold ourselves to a higher standard than most people hold motorist to?

I took part in a 'debate' recently where most people, including you, seemed to be under the impression that motorists are responsible for the safety of cyclists, as the latter are more vulnerable.

If you take your stance to its logical conclusion, on shared use paths, cyclists are responsible for the safety of pedestrians? If so, this douchebag failed epically. His conduct is indefensible. No?

Seems to me you are trying to hold cyclists to a lower standard than you expect from motorists ....

Yeah, but most here accept the cyclist should have been more careful/slower on a shared-use path. Shame most motorists (including you) don't seem to acknowledge the same about your behaviour in your choice of vehicle, eh?

In any case, part of the blame lies with the authorities who rely far too much on crappy shared-use paths for routes.

As it happens, just recently I nearly got knocked down from behind by a cyclist who clipped me at speed, while I was walking and wearing headphones. It was, mind you, on a no-cycling-permitted narrow pavement.
Though it was also next to a road that scares the crap out of me when I cycle on it myself (20mph limit, routinely ignored by drivers doing 60+), which is why I was walking.
Can't win, really.

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burtthebike | 8 years ago
1 like

Having looked at the video several times, I think that while there may be fault on both sides, the main fault lies with the runner, who caused the collision.  The cyclist starts out on the right, and there is a demarcation line, so presumably that side is intended for cyclists, and the left is for pedestrians.  The cyclist moves well over to the left to pass the runner, who is on the right, and without warning or checking whether anyone was coming, the runner does a 90 degree turn into the path of the cyclist.

Perhaps the cyclist could have been more careful and reduced his speed, but his speed is essentially irrelevant, as it wouldn't have mattered if he was going much slower, he would still have hit the runner if the runner had crossed as he was passing.  If another runner had been there and running in the same place as the cyclist, they would have hit the turning runner.  The cause of the collision is the stupid manouvre by the runner, and the fact that he was wearing headphones and was therefore unable to hear the warning shouted by the cyclist.

I am a bike mechanic, and I've had to replace the front wheel of a customer's bike because a runner ran straight off the footpath into road and into the bike.  And they weren't wearing headphones.  This situation has happened to me several times, when a pedestrian, asuming the road is clear because they can't hear a motor vehicle, steps out into the road in front of me.

Should we all slow down to walking pace just in case some crazy heaphone wearing pedestrian decides to throw themselves into our path?

Enough self-flagellation, this runner takes most of the blame.

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welly2 replied to urbane | 8 years ago
1 like

urbane wrote:

The idiot runner was 100% at fault, the earphones weren't the problem, it was because he didn't look behind before turning and moving across most of the path width, and his turn was so sudden and sharp that the cyclist had no chance to brake or turn, so pain!

This is probably one of the reasons why the AirZound (love the metal air can version) was invented, nothing like a 100dB+ air horn to cut the BS.  Normally I use a loud cycle bell because I prefer not to kick people in the Ears with an Air Horn, but some people really do need it!

On any path, all users have a responsibility to maintain spacial awareness, leave enough space for other users, not hog the centre, not zombie wander across paths or lay "trip-wires" with near invisible wire dog leads across most the width of a path, including cyclists.  I've even had to wake up some insane cyclists with these wire dog leads recently, WTF!

I think things are seriously FU when people are so stupid that they need pedestrian crossing lights in paths and obstacle detection mobile cases!

 

Rubbish. The cyclist was quite clearly to blame. That's like saying a car in front of you is responsible for you colliding into them from behind. The cyclist was absolutely at fault here.

In the pecking order, pedestrians are top of the tree and there was absolutely no way at the speed the cyclist was going that he would have been able to avoid anything running into his path. What if the runner was a dog? He'd have more likely than not killed that dog.

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arowland replied to Sanderstorm | 8 years ago
0 likes

Sanderstorm wrote:

Worst thing about this is that it's using FLASH player! It's 2016 haven't we moved on.

Worked for me and I don't have Flash installed. Are you by any chance using a pre-2016 browser?

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