I love my iPod, but I don’t ride my bike while listening to my iPod, and I strongly discourage combining iPod use with cycling under any circumstances. An article in today’s The London Free Press up in London, Ontario ought to be further proof of the danger of cycling with your headphones on:
A 15-year-old cyclist who died of head injuries after colliding with a tractor-trailer in Chatham-Kent Saturday was wearing an iPod and headphones but no helmet, police said yesterday…
“Anytime anybody is wearing any type of earphones or ear protection and their hearing is limited, it could present a hazardous situation,” Constable Doug Gutteridge said.
Kevin Houston, the 15-year old cyclist, was a multisport athlete who was in Grade 11 at a secondary school in Chatham, Ontario, a small city in Southern Ontario between Toronto and Detroit. May he rest in peace.