I can kind of see their point, but I don't know how they plan to enforce it. Also, if I were a runner I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy without music.

I don't wear headphones when I bike or run, but I know a number of people who claim to hear traffic better with their headphones in. I think it should be individual choice.

I think there's enough idiots on bikes (coming from an avid, daily biker myself) to justify this kind of ban. Adding loud Ke$ha music as another layer of distraction just pours gasoline on the fire.

Heh, the "no government involvement!" cry always amuses me in these cases. (Seat belts, etc)

Guess what - if a biker gets in a serious accident, does the government stay uninvolved? Nope, they send emergency responders, at least partially supported by public taxes, to scrape the body off the pavement.

The hospital the biker is taken to will, quite likely, be partially supported by government grants, and if he can't pay for the emergency treatment that cost will be eaten by the government and other patients.

And that's just the government! You should also weigh the costs, financial and emotional, to any other victims of the accident. And yes, that includes the driver of the bus who just had a bike run out in front of him.

If the consequences of getting crushed on the road effected only the biker, I'd say we shouldn't make any rules for him. But unfortunately those consequences and costs effect far, far more people.

I say keep the government out of it. Darwinism at it's finest. If you're stupid enough to NOT look where you're going or have it so loud you can't hear then it's YOUR fault for getting hit by a bus or what not. I know this sounds morbid, inconsiderate, but honestly people, what happen to common sense? "You can fix ugly but you can't fix stupid. - Ron White"

I do wear earbuds when I bike ride but I make sure to wear crappy ones that have poor sound isolation so that I can hear everything else.

I really do not see how this is too different than drivers listening to music in the car. The musics can easily block out other noises. When I wear my ear buds, I can carry a conversation over the music (or podcast) if I so choose without turning it off.

I do not think this really poses any elevated risk to others

I understand people saying that others should take personal responsibility but usually, these accidents involve more than one party. If one person is blasting their music to the point where they cause an accident that hurts other innocent people who weren't, how is that Darwinism at work?

As a pedestrian, I can't tell you the number of times I've almost been hit by someone on the phone and not paying attention when approaching an intersection when I've had the right of way. I was glad when the government stepped in and banned texting while driving, I just wish they would enforce it more.

I think they are looking at making the streets safer for EVERYONE!

Aren't things like this why we have a government? Do we really trust that everyone would drive at the appropriate speed while never drinking more alcohol than they're supposed to while always wearing a seatbelt?

If there's an "increase in pedestrian fatalities", only an irresponsible government wouldn't look into a solution.

We should also ban RADIOS and WINDOWS in cars because they block out the traffic noise. While we're on it let's ban EYELIDS also, when you blink you can't see!

At some point people have to take responsibility for their own stupidity.

I thought wearing any kind of headphones in or over both ears whilst driving or operating a bicycle was already illegal. At least that's what the DMV and Police told us in our driver's safety course back in high school.

if this was in forced it would be enough to make me consider to stop riding altogether. If I can't listen to music it's going to take me forever to go to work. Death Metal alone has shaved 10-15 minutes off my commute.

How are earbuds any different from cranking a stereo in your car?

@SergDun

It's different because rather than simply adding more sound, earbuds and headphones block at least some of the outside noise. Wearing headphones in cars is illegal for the same reason. Also, most municipalities have laws governing the volume of music coming from a car. For instance, if said music can be heard X number of feet from the car, it is illegal. While this is rarely enforced unless it is in combination with another infraction, I suspect the same to would be true of a headphone ban for cyclists.

It is already illegal to have two headphones on in NYC -- a single headphone is fine. I think this is reasonable and in line with legislation that makes it illegal to talk on your phone while driving.

What's amazing is the lack of common sense that's being passed on to the next generation, and the level of narcissism that's now acceptable. It's like talking to my kids:
KID: "I want to do it, I'm [fill in age], so I should be allowed to do it."
DAD: "You could zone out and get hit by a car."
KID: "No I won't."

Maybe someone will get the accident on video, post it to YouTube, and he'll get famous.

@designhotdog,

I don't drive.

I'm not saying that everyone drives exactly at the speed posted but we have them in different areas for safety's sake.

I would absolutely go for this. I'm a pedestrian and have been almost hit countless times by bikers listening to their music or chatting on cell phones.

The problem is, there is a large number of bikers out there who think that they are above the law or that their actions could never affect anyone else on the roads or sidewalks. So many bikers here in the DC area fail to signal like they're supposed to, wear black at night withot lights or reflectors, dangerously weave in and out between parked cars on narrow streets, buzz through red lights at intersections as if they forget they're subject to vehicular traffic laws, fail to warn pedestrians that they're passing them on sidewalks and trails, and on and on. This isn't all bikers, of course, but there are so many who endanger everyone else that I'd be glad to see measures like this taken.

And as for HernandoHouse's comment about not knowing how they can enforce it -- here in VA, a biker was indeed ticketed the other day for speeding. It is actually possible to enforce laws.

And what's unfathomable to me is that so addicted to being able to listen to their music whenever and wherever that we're willing to endanger other people's lives for the sake of our tunes. Really? Your music is more important than other people? Really? Turn the darned music off and consider other people.

typo -- should read "that so many are addicted..."

I wear earbuds when I ride by bike, however it is so low in volume in the background that I can still hear a quiet car creeping up on me from the rear. Just use common sense instead of having even more legislation for no good reason.

Don't ban it, just fine the living #$( out of them if they cause an accident. That's freedom of choice for you.

I'm all for not having laws that babysit people, as long as those people are held accountable for whatever mess they cause as a result.

Drive without seat belt? Be prepared to die when you get in an accident.

Talk on your phone while driving? You are more likely to cause an accident, so be prepared to pay for damages or even face jail time if someone dies.

The same goes for anything a person can think of. There is no justice without accountability, whether natural or artificial.

I'm against the ban. It's a good way to "thin the heard" of people who may not be paying attention to what they should be doing.

But, also in agreement with many above about not knowing how effective it will be because policing would be difficult. Look how many break the law, here in CA, by not using hands free devices while driving. Don't even get a sorry wave from them when they swerve into me. They just keep on talking. Side note: at a stoplight I asked one person on the phone behind the wheel if they knew that was illegal. Response: "So what."

Also, I think that lady, who walked into the fountain at the mall while texting, is an idiot for trying to sue the mall. Says it negatively affected her. What's a frivolous lawsuit gonna do for her?

Definitely support this. I do a lot of biking on a public paved trail and there's always people biking, roller blading or jogging with headphones on and they are always oblivious to people approaching them. To make it worse they ride in the middle so you have to go off the path to get around them because their music is too loud for them to hear you ringing your bell or yelling at them.

I tried cycling with headphones playing music exactly once and felt so disconnected from the world that I never tried it again. I listen to spoken word podcasts if I am on a cycle track with no traffic because I can hear through the words. Otherwise I feel unsafe.

I'm quite happy with not having to listen to everyone elses awful taste in music, all this will do is encourage people to tape little speakers to their bike or similar.

I have a luxury car and can't hear a single thing outside it with all the windows up, add music and you have no chance of me hearing you.

Riding a bike shouldn't be any more dangerous with headphones in if you pay attention, we have to be raising the stupidest generation with the least commonsense yet with all this cottonwooling the government seem to be doing to combat idiocy and bad parenting.

Just an FYI, illegal in CA (at least since 2004) to have two earbuds in on a bike. I'm serious, and I've seen someone stopped for it. Just be forewarned.