City Council: Cell Phone Ban Should Extend to Cyclists

This is my favorite photo of a person bicycling while talking on the phone. 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j...

Since she only had one hand controlling her handlebars, her acceleration from a stop (after the light turned green) was very slow, the slowness being almost agonizing to watch. 

Her body language tells of the difficulty of trying to maneuver a bike in a turn, from a stop, while talking on the phone. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/j...

uhm... i know the guy in the picture. Weeeeee!

Cool, Lauren! I took the photo. Tell your friend thanks and that's he's a good photo subject. I hope to get some more fun shots like that at the next Critical Mass.

if you actually pay attention while you're riding (i.e. be alert, turn your head, look both ways at every intersection for traffic) and just make being aware of your surroundings your top priority, headphones make literally no difference.  bikes are nimble enough to stop quickly and turn quickly to avoid such things, as long as the rider is paying attention. maybe if you suck at riding you should take these nerd precautions, but as someone who basically lives on their bike, this is a complete joke.

I like how efforts to be safe are considered "nerd precautions." What a condescending attitude. You're the person who gives all cyclists a bad name.

Chris, I totally agree that if you simply pay close attention while riding, headphone use won't make a difference. From my experience though, there are plenty of cyclists who seem to pay little to no attention to anything around them. I think that an ear bud ban would help protect you and I from these people.

I get it, the "one kid shit in the sandbox so no one can play there anymore" argument. so you agree that a couple of bad apples spoil the whole bunch. makes sense, if a few people can't pull their focus together, then we all should be penalized. Trying to figure out how many other way i can say the same thing. Oh, but it will make us all safer... I wasn't worried for my own safety and it doesn't sound like this guy was either. and that's because i pay attention. with head phones in. On a side note i'd like to say I haven't actually ridden with headphones in about 6 months. they just broke and I haven't replaced them. Rides haven't been any safer because of it.

Agreed. know your limits. I wouldn't learn to swim by attempting to cross the bering strait. If you're a novice, enjoy the bike lanes and wind in your ears. The rest of us will continue to watch out for you.

I never ride my bike with my earbuds. I need to concentrate the other pedestrians, drivers, and stop lights/signs in order to navigate my bike through the street and try to avoid being doored.  Maybe it's an age issue.  I find as I get older, I can no longer have music playing if I really need to concentrate on something.  When I was in college, I could study with the music blaring, the TV on and my roommates talking.  In fact, I found studying in the library difficult because it was too quiet. Now, it's just the opposite. 

A trend I've noticed lately is more and more motorists wearing earbuds.  I know this (wearing earbuds, headphones, etc.) has been an issue since the dawn of transistor radios but, good lord, is this dangerous.  I can't imagine being able to make split second decisions needed when driving when there is music being pumped into your ears.  It is different and more dangerous than listening to the radio.  Yes, the radio does take away from one's concentration but there is some distance between the speaker and the driver.  I find that makes all the difference between knowing when brake, swerve, etc. 

I honestly thought it was already illegal to have earphones or headphones blocking both ears while driving.  Perhaps that's just the residue of long-ago rules of the road from a very different state than Illinois.

Me too, twocee. I'm pretty sure it's already illegal.

I always thought so too.  Seeing how dilligent the CPD are for ticketing drivers who are talking on their cell phones, there is no reason to believe they would ticket for that infraction either. 

Of course, the whole concept would be more convincing if I didn't regularly see police officers talking on their cell phones while driving.

also, +2 to chuck on the ear phones addition to the article. this would have been a "we all agree, on to the next post" article

The no cell phone thing is great.  Headphones seems a lot rougher, because if you are a path cyclist then it gets to the point that runners shouldn't have headphones on, because now I am the bigger faster heavier vehicle that they aren't paying attention to.  It is a slippery slope.

Just throwing it out there, for all those that are against riding a bike with headphones in, do you go running and listen to music?  Because, I've had assholes doing that do dumb things as well because they aren't paying attention.  It comes down to a simple concept, do things reasonably or be killed or kill.

I run with headphones in all the time. I find that paying attention to one's surroundings is more than enough to avoid most problems. It's a bigger problem with a person who's running, looking at the pavement, and simply not paying attention.

Not disagreeing, just wanted to show that listening to music, while doing anything biking, driving, running, doesn't cause someone to be an idiot.  Usually the ones that listen to it too loud would probably find another way to be a hazard on the road.

I'll do some of you a favor and just post your response for you:

words words words grudging agreement that biking while on the phone is recklessly idiotic words words words yahbut drivers are worse words words potentially fabricated, almost certainly exaggerated anecdote words words words preening condescension words obnoxious sanctimony words words words.

You're welcome.

Edit: Just for anybody who's confused, a while ago I said...

I'm just going to start "liking" the comments that make Navin either a) look like an idiot...

grudging agreement that biking while on the phone is recklessly idiotic

Everyone seems to be in unequivocal, enthusiastic agreement that it's reckless and should be banned.  Captaining a yacht while on the cell now that's something else...

#idiot. (before you can do it)

Someone riding their bike on the sidewalk while fiddling with their phone actually ran into me a couple weeks ago (I was walking). Just rode up right behind me, plowed into me, gave me a dirty look, and kept going.

Thankfully she was going pretty slow so all I ended up with was a big bruise on my leg.

So they broke two laws.

I hit a pedestrian playing around in the street two days ago, I tried to avoid him, but him and his girlfriend were jumping around goofing in the street (really).  He swung around and hit my arm while I was trying to steer around them without riding into the oncoming lane.  As I went away he was screaming 'bitch' at me and talking about how he was going to fuck my ass up.

No helmet, cell phone out, no brakes on a fixie.... kinda Darwining your way into that one.

This all makes sense, for obvious reasons. I think the biggest difference is that a vehicle makes a hell of a lot more damage when it runs into a car/pedestrian/cyclist when the driver is distracted by texting or talking on the phone.
And as for earbuds, the only place cyclists should be wearing them is on a bike trail (and this is probably even unsafe). On city streets, you're just being an ass - it's dangerous for other cyclists to pass someone who can't hear.

On a path makes no more sense than a street.  You just assume a path is safer, which I assure you the lakefront path is way scarier to me than Milwaukee Avenue.

I was thinking more along the lines of a bike trail outside of the city, and when it is mostly just you and a few other cyclists on the trail. I don't do it then either because I actually like to hear birds and stuff. But anyways, do what you want. I'll still think someone is an ass if I'm trying to pass and they can't hear me and they veer into my lane.

also for any of this to matter, the fat ass cops on their bikes would actually have to be able to catch you in order to ticket you...and we all know that isn't going to happen.

How about a patrol car?  Given your attitude, you'd run, wouldn't you?

Well, if you ride the way you say to do, natural selection will take care of you soon enough.

i ride with headphones in, i run red lights, and i don't wear a helmet.  fight me.

OK, but like you, I kind of "play by own rules" so you might want to watch your back.

Meh.  Fighting isn't necessary.  I'd be mighty happy if the city started to fine you, though.

You aren't the only ass on the road, but you are contributing to a big problem in this city.  Nobody--not cyclists, not pedestrians, not drivers--gives a damn anymore.  It is frustrating, it slows everybody down and it is dangerous.

you bad.

The problem is that a blanket rule against cell phone use on motorists and cyclists will be unfairly enforced against cyclists, because they can't hide their cell phones in their laps and look down the way motorists do.

i fully support this.

as for the earbuds/listening to music. that irks me too. most people in that position can't hear me when i yell "on your left!" it's dangerous for everyone.

Have any of you ever tried to do it?
I did it once & the person on the other couldn't hear me do to wind noise.
I was doing this while riding on a street in Golf, where traffic is just about unknown. I was only going about 10 MPH too.

I'm for this, especially after seeing a guy biking down Irving Park while using his tablet. 

For fuck sake....wow.

Of course it should be illegal to bike and talk on a cell phone.  Have the cops enforced this on anybody though?  I don't like in Wicker Park so maybe I don't see it as much as others.  I do see drivers pretty much constantly, as in I don't think at an intersection it would be possible to not find one driver doing it.

I listen to music on my commute to work, because it's mostly sleepy residential streets and through a large park with few vehicles at all.  I don't on the way home though, because the streets are alive and much busier.

Could never imagine being distracted like that on Milwaukee, that's pretty insane.

yeah, this just makes sense. but it won't be enforced and it should be more common sense, if anything. I gotta disagree with you on riding with headphones though. it's a non issue if you've got music on at a reasonable level.

The earbuds thing is a non-issue until someone gets into an accident, and then the blame falls on the cyclist for not being able to hear what's around him. And a "reasonable level" is an arbitrary notion.

I'd rather err on the side of being safe and have my helmet on, no ear buds and, a tuned bike and knowledge of the Rules of the Road

meh, to each their own. i like music.

I agree with Chuck on the ear buds issue. My wife was almost killed when an ear bud wearing cyclist almost ran her into the side of a bus on Milwaukee. He couldn't hear her even as she screamed at him. It just does not seem safe, even at a 'reasonable' level to have anything obstructing your hearing while riding. And I hardly think that it's a 'to each their own' issue. If someone wants to obstruct their hearing, that's fine, but if it endangers those around them, that's problematic.

we should probably remove stereos from cars too. just to be safe.

There's one big problem with that argument, though, which in my mind blows it out of the water: cars are required by law to have 3 (or I think at least 2) rear view mirrors to help drivers with situational awareness. Bicycles, at least as far as I can tell, aren't. That means bikers are far, far more reliant on sound (as all the "on the left!" people in the comments above can attest) than drivers are.

http://www.cyberdriveillinois....

Exactly. This is a point others are missing. Cyclists depend far more on hearing than drivers in cars. Cyclists need to be able to hear the traffic coming up behind them. Cars don't. It's a hilariously weak argument to say, "One group doesn't have to hear, so we shouldn't have to either."

"we should probably remove stereos from cars too. just to be safe."
If it makes the streets safer, I'm all for it. We're talking about cycling, though.

If I ride my bike on the street (or path) and decide to pass a fellow cyclist, I usually shout, "On your left!". I think it's fair to expect fellow cyclists on the road to be prepared for this kind of verbal signal. If I'm riding slowly, I should expect cyclists to want to pass me, so I think it's only fair to keep ear buds(and music, etc) out of my ears, so I can hear them calling out, "On your left!" too.

I'm sure that some people can play music through their ear buds at a reasonable volume and still hear some outside noises, but I almost lost a loved one to someone who didn't play their music at a reasonable level. So, until we can somehow have 'reasonable ear bud level' police, I am all for a ban on ear buds on cyclists.

there is a difference between a stereo and having music blasting directly into your ear drums via something that is designed to block outside noise.

i know you are trying to make a logical and snarky point about distractions while driving (bike or car) but i would say there is a big difference.

i'm just saying that i can hear what's going on around me way better on a bike with headphones than i can in an insulated car with music on.

I would love for you to explain to me how the person in the car with the bass that literally shakes picture frames off my wall can hear any think.  Or the guy that blasts the radio so loud that I can hear it with both his and my windows up and my car radio on.  Reasonable level seems easy enough, you can hear other things around you.  When I ride with my ear buds in I can hear my chain and I can also hear other bikers.

do you really need to be immersed in the soundtrack of your life at all times.

its definitely a distraction when you are riding to be listening to music. when i ride my bike pretty much anywhere i focus with all of my senses on getting there safely.

yes. yes i do. and, bravo to you.

well at least you will have some good jams to listen to when someone runs into you because you cant hear them.

i know you are trying to make a logical and snarky point about
distractions... but i'll hear a car horn over music. it's been done. If i'm trying to gauge not getting hit by listening to tires on the pavement, well, i think they've already hit me at that point.

touche calling out my other post.  do whatever you want, i obviously won't change your mind or really need to. i just don't see the need in having to listen to music while you are riding a bike.

Thanks for the photo post! And yeah, get off yer phone fer crissakes.

I don't even begin to know how you talk on a cell phone and ride at the same time, but I see people doing it every day. I'm amazed there aren't a dozen ghost bikes with white cell phones attached. I'm all for this.