Article content, in case you don’t want to directly access the Daily Heil website:
– MPs are seeking to ban headphones for those using electric scooters
– There has been a surge in accidents involving headphones and scooters
– Despite headphone users being unable to hear other vehicles properly, the dangerous practice is not against the law
>Cyclists and e-scooter riders should be banned from wearing headphones after a series of fatal accidents, say campaigners and MPs.
>Despite headphone users being unable to hear other vehicles properly, the dangerous practice is not against the law.
>Labour MP Barry Sheerman, chairman of the parliamentary advisory council for road safety, said: ‘I believe urgent action has to be taken. Scooter users and cyclists are increasingly becoming victims of fatal and near-fatal accidents.’
>France and Spain outlawed the wearing of headphones while cycling many years ago, while Portugal and Italy allow one ear only. In the US, rules differ from state to state.
>The calls for a UK ban come after a series of deaths caused by riders wearing headphones, including Peter McCombie, 72, who died of head injuries after being hit by cyclist Ermir Loka, who was listening to music.
>Loka, 23, was captured on CCTV running a red light and ploughing into Mr McCombie before fleeing the scene. He was found not guilty of manslaughter but jailed for two years for causing bodily harm by ‘wanton or furious driving’.
>Last June, 19-year-old e-scooter rider George McGowan was killed after he was hit by a car while listening to music on his headphones. Neil Greig, policy and research director at the road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: ‘Being plugged in to headphones is the ultimate distraction, as it completely shuts you off to your surroundings, creating a potential road safety risk to yourself, pedestrians and other road users.’
>He described changes to the Highway Code earlier this year as a ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle the issue, adding: ‘We would be keen to see at least, as a minimum, a major education campaign, and if that didn’t work we would be supportive of a ban.’
>In 2013, Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, said: ‘It makes me absolutely terrified to see them [cyclists] bowling along, unable to hear the traffic.’
>Sarah Leadbetter, of the National Federation of the Blind, said a ban would ‘not only make life safer for the visually impaired but also for many other vulnerable pedestrians and the riders themselves’.
Maybe I missed it but weren’t electric scooters banned?
Either way driving anything with headphones in seems crazy
Legalise the scooters first. The hate they get is completely undeservered. (Hate that the rental services get for ‘scooter litter’ is a bit more warranted)
Bicycles are similarly hazardous to the riders and pedestrians, and cyclists on pavements have been a minor annoyance/hazard forever, but that doesn’t justify banning bikes.
How would this be enforced? Wireless earbuds are pretty small these days and hard to spot.
Why not just ban them from the roads? Bicycles can be dangerous but these sound or seem way more dangerous than it
No.
I will stop listening to music or podcasts when I am riding my bike or scooter (which personally I only do in one ear) right after they ban listing to the radio and sound deadening in cars.
Anyone _not in a car_ has a better sound perception than someone in a car, if the radio is on that’s nearly all someone in a car can hear. Motorcyclists wear ear plugs for crying out loud, and they should do. A cyclists or scooter rider or pedestrian wearing headphones is not a problem.
This is just usual daily mail hysteria anyway, the government and civil service lawmakers are actually more sensible than this, and wouldn’t introduce such silly, unnecessary and unenforceable legislation.
Once again I fail to see why e-scooters need to be singled out when the same applies to e-bikes.
Obviously, deaf people will also be banned from scooters/bikes
That would actually be reasonable on the surface. I feel like headphone wearing pedestrians and cyclists really put themselves at risk by blocking out the sounds around them.
Like wearing a helmet though, maybe the risk should be on the individual – instead of a ban just make sure that the public are aware of the dangers. A ban would be too difficult to enforce and might cause issues for users with hearing aids or devices that filter out certain types of sounds.
I’d prefer they spend the time and resources enforcing keeping them off the pavement.
Also in cars please.
Is this going to apply to cyclists and joggers as well ????.
Are they going to ban people listening to the radio in their car with the window up? You can hear way less in that position and far far more people are killed by cars than by scooters.
Last week was the first (and last) time I actually tried a Voi e-scooter.
I mean not only did I feel pretty unsafe riding it, because it turns out that most road surfaces are horrible for e-scooters, but Voi has some really annoying downsides. For one, you still get metered for usage even if you’re in a no-ride zone and have to push around your e-scooter manually. Huge swathes of my city are no-ride zones. Then there were the sheer amount of e-scooters that were simply out of juice.
Another thing that was kinda annoying: the service is completely disabled after a certain time only on Friday and Saturday evenings. I get that it’s meant to deter drunk riders, but they make no mention of this on their website or app.
should ban mobile phones because of idiots walking into roads using them?
edit: reality is, this is unenforceable. the size of earpod type headphones means nobody will see them, and its a case of needing to improve the penalties applied to stupid and selfish operation of a vehicle.
Is this “surge” of accidents, about 3?
Cars kill far more people. I am all in favour of encouraging alternative forms of transport to cars.
I want to shriek at the top of my voice like the late-thirties Karen I am, “how could you wear headphones when you[‘re ON ROADS” but…. I see kids riding their bikes and looking at their phones at the same time so what even is the point? Dumbass motherfuckers everywhere.
I feel like I have to have eyes up my damn ass as a pedestrian walking to my bus, so how scooter/bike users could be so blasé is just. I don’t know man.
Cars are far, far more sound-insulated- ban car radios and windows first, then come back when that far greater danger is sorted out 🙂
18 comments
Article content, in case you don’t want to directly access the Daily Heil website:
– MPs are seeking to ban headphones for those using electric scooters
– There has been a surge in accidents involving headphones and scooters
– Despite headphone users being unable to hear other vehicles properly, the dangerous practice is not against the law
>Cyclists and e-scooter riders should be banned from wearing headphones after a series of fatal accidents, say campaigners and MPs.
>Despite headphone users being unable to hear other vehicles properly, the dangerous practice is not against the law.
>Labour MP Barry Sheerman, chairman of the parliamentary advisory council for road safety, said: ‘I believe urgent action has to be taken. Scooter users and cyclists are increasingly becoming victims of fatal and near-fatal accidents.’
>France and Spain outlawed the wearing of headphones while cycling many years ago, while Portugal and Italy allow one ear only. In the US, rules differ from state to state.
>The calls for a UK ban come after a series of deaths caused by riders wearing headphones, including Peter McCombie, 72, who died of head injuries after being hit by cyclist Ermir Loka, who was listening to music.
>Loka, 23, was captured on CCTV running a red light and ploughing into Mr McCombie before fleeing the scene. He was found not guilty of manslaughter but jailed for two years for causing bodily harm by ‘wanton or furious driving’.
>Last June, 19-year-old e-scooter rider George McGowan was killed after he was hit by a car while listening to music on his headphones. Neil Greig, policy and research director at the road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: ‘Being plugged in to headphones is the ultimate distraction, as it completely shuts you off to your surroundings, creating a potential road safety risk to yourself, pedestrians and other road users.’
>He described changes to the Highway Code earlier this year as a ‘missed opportunity’ to tackle the issue, adding: ‘We would be keen to see at least, as a minimum, a major education campaign, and if that didn’t work we would be supportive of a ban.’
>In 2013, Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, said: ‘It makes me absolutely terrified to see them [cyclists] bowling along, unable to hear the traffic.’
>Sarah Leadbetter, of the National Federation of the Blind, said a ban would ‘not only make life safer for the visually impaired but also for many other vulnerable pedestrians and the riders themselves’.
Maybe I missed it but weren’t electric scooters banned?
Either way driving anything with headphones in seems crazy
Legalise the scooters first. The hate they get is completely undeservered. (Hate that the rental services get for ‘scooter litter’ is a bit more warranted)
Bicycles are similarly hazardous to the riders and pedestrians, and cyclists on pavements have been a minor annoyance/hazard forever, but that doesn’t justify banning bikes.
How would this be enforced? Wireless earbuds are pretty small these days and hard to spot.
Why not just ban them from the roads? Bicycles can be dangerous but these sound or seem way more dangerous than it
No.
I will stop listening to music or podcasts when I am riding my bike or scooter (which personally I only do in one ear) right after they ban listing to the radio and sound deadening in cars.
Anyone _not in a car_ has a better sound perception than someone in a car, if the radio is on that’s nearly all someone in a car can hear. Motorcyclists wear ear plugs for crying out loud, and they should do. A cyclists or scooter rider or pedestrian wearing headphones is not a problem.
This is just usual daily mail hysteria anyway, the government and civil service lawmakers are actually more sensible than this, and wouldn’t introduce such silly, unnecessary and unenforceable legislation.
Once again I fail to see why e-scooters need to be singled out when the same applies to e-bikes.
Obviously, deaf people will also be banned from scooters/bikes
That would actually be reasonable on the surface. I feel like headphone wearing pedestrians and cyclists really put themselves at risk by blocking out the sounds around them.
Like wearing a helmet though, maybe the risk should be on the individual – instead of a ban just make sure that the public are aware of the dangers. A ban would be too difficult to enforce and might cause issues for users with hearing aids or devices that filter out certain types of sounds.
I’d prefer they spend the time and resources enforcing keeping them off the pavement.
Also in cars please.
Is this going to apply to cyclists and joggers as well ????.
Are they going to ban people listening to the radio in their car with the window up? You can hear way less in that position and far far more people are killed by cars than by scooters.
Last week was the first (and last) time I actually tried a Voi e-scooter.
I mean not only did I feel pretty unsafe riding it, because it turns out that most road surfaces are horrible for e-scooters, but Voi has some really annoying downsides. For one, you still get metered for usage even if you’re in a no-ride zone and have to push around your e-scooter manually. Huge swathes of my city are no-ride zones. Then there were the sheer amount of e-scooters that were simply out of juice.
Another thing that was kinda annoying: the service is completely disabled after a certain time only on Friday and Saturday evenings. I get that it’s meant to deter drunk riders, but they make no mention of this on their website or app.
should ban mobile phones because of idiots walking into roads using them?
edit: reality is, this is unenforceable. the size of earpod type headphones means nobody will see them, and its a case of needing to improve the penalties applied to stupid and selfish operation of a vehicle.
Is this “surge” of accidents, about 3?
Cars kill far more people. I am all in favour of encouraging alternative forms of transport to cars.
I want to shriek at the top of my voice like the late-thirties Karen I am, “how could you wear headphones when you[‘re ON ROADS” but…. I see kids riding their bikes and looking at their phones at the same time so what even is the point? Dumbass motherfuckers everywhere.
I feel like I have to have eyes up my damn ass as a pedestrian walking to my bus, so how scooter/bike users could be so blasé is just. I don’t know man.
Cars are far, far more sound-insulated- ban car radios and windows first, then come back when that far greater danger is sorted out 🙂