The recent tragic case of a Victorian schoolgirl struck by a train while listening to music highlights the tricky area of personal responsibility versus legal policy. What’s a sensible rule of thumb for listening to music in public?
The Age reports on the very sad case of a schoolgirl killed by a train while listening to music. I’ve got to say upfront, I’m not looking for comment specifically on that case; I think it’d be highly insensitive and inappropriate to do so.
But what it does bring to the forefront is the tricky issue of what your personal and legal responsibilities when wearing headphones in public are or should be. I’m a big fan of listening to music while I walk; not only is it enjoyable but it’s also a very convenient social barrier, making you invisible to the general public. Don’t believe me? Walk past charity/survey types on a busy city street without headphones, and they’ll try to stop you every time. Do the same thing with headphones in (even if you’re not listening to anything in particular) and you’ll generally be overlooked. Your friends and social colleagues will still stop you, but generally not total strangers. Call me introverted if you must, but there are times when I rather like that.
It rather surprised me to discover (via this SMH story) that it’s not actually illegal to drive while wearing headphones, although NSW head of police traffic command, Chief Superintendent John Hartley is quoted as saying in that story that it’s “not advisable”. I’d agree with that; in fact I think I’d favour actually making it illegal while driving, simply because your hearing is a good safety tool as part of your overall driving skills package.
Walking is different, though. You’re not pushing forward thousands of kilos of metal and plastic at high speed; even the most heavy set of folks will only be pushing forward a few hundred at worst. Earlier in the year New York city lawmakers suggested a ban on headphones on city streets. I tend to think that’s taking things too far in a controlled policy direction.
At the same time, there’s a risk both to yourself and to others to weigh up — not just those you bump into, but in the case of tragedy, others involved in that tragedy, such as bus or train drivers. We’ve previously discussed whether it’s rude to talk with headphones on and whether you should share earbuds — what’s everyone’s opinion on the issue of public headphone safety?
Image: Presleyjesus
D.C.
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:14 PMSometimes when I’m particularly anti-social, I’ll just put the headphones in even when I’m not listening to any thing. You’re right, it’s a great buffer between the social world and the awkward loner world. I think there’s nothing wrong with headphones, you just have to be a lot more aware of your surroundings.
Greg
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:14 PMkeep your eyes open.
Blake
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:15 PMCommon sense. If you’re walking into a dangerous place where your hearing will aid you in survival (such as where large metal machines could potentially break your fragile meat-body), pause the music.
After that it’s all the usual darwinistic prose from me.
Jimmy
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:16 PMWell, before posting I thought I’d actually look at the story before I went ranting on about this. Now I wish I hadn’t. Moved the safety barrier? Ignored all warning signals and lights? Seriously, WTF does this have anything to do with headphones or listening to music while in public. You are your own self and responsible for you own safety and welfare as well as those around you. If you want to go jogging around town with your headphones on then do it. But don’t go complaining or suing someone when you walk out in front of an ambulance just because you ‘didn’t hear it.’ Personal responsibility people.
TSH
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:29 PMI’m never glad to hear of someone getting killed because they made a casual mistake, but I agree: there’s more to this incident than the fact she was wearing headphones and probably listening to something other than her surroundings.
It’s quite common for headphones to block out environmental sounds, one way or another. In that sense they’re akin to ear plugs and should be treated as such for the purpose of safety discussions.
Ozoneocean
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:40 PMThe fact she’d had only 2 hours of sleep here is key, not the headphone thing or anything else.
Lack of sleep can be like being drunk- it narrows your focus right down to only being able to think of 1 or 2 things clearly at a time.
The headphones argument in that sense is largely irrelevant.
Josh
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:20 PMI’m gonna have to agree with you there Jimmy. I clicked through to the story also and there were way too many other factors contributing to her death than a hearing impairment.
Having said that I believe the article only links back to that example as a background to the Author’s thinking process.
Having said THAT I think that making headphones illegal while walking or running won’t really help society. If we make it illegal to listen to music in certain areas you don’t know where they’ll stop with addendums to that law and it would be difficult to realise the tangible effects also when you consider that such a law would force people to not be able to relax with their music.
Glenn
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:17 PMIf listening to music while walking is made illegal by the actions of a few individuals who were too stupid to use their eyes rather than just relying on good fortune to get them across the road/train tracks, then I’m not going to be happy.
I walk from my work to the train station and back twice a day… Whenever I’m crossing a road, I damn well look, and I look carefully… I don’t just assume that people are stopping because it’s a red light.
What happened to the girl at the train station could have been avoided if she’d just used her other senses, rather than barging through a closed crossing gate.
Sicarius123
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:47 PMIf it’s made illegal I’ll happily be charged and fight it in court.
Alex
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:25 PMif its illegal to listen to the music aka stop your self from receiving sound messaged from outside why do deaf people allowed to drive?
as far as that story goes agree with Jimmy… if you choose to ignore all the visual warnings that are there – nothing can help you
light487
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:28 PMThis is very similar to what they were thinking of doing in regards to people using their smartphones while crossing the road because there was an increasing trend in pedestrians being hit by cars due to not looking where they were going on account of using their smartphones.
As per Glenn, it all comes down to “common” sense.. and looking where the feck you are going.
Tim
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:30 PMI ride to work and the most dangerous part of my journey is the pedestrians and not the cars. Too many times over the years have pedestrians with headphones on walked in front of me whilst I am riding on the road.
Adz
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:58 PM+1
lolwut
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:31 PMwhat about cyclist using headphones ?
i’ve seen a few in sydney CBD, and yes, they all running the red light
there should be the law if pedestrians see a cyclist running the red light, they are by law required to hit the cyclist in the face or throw a stone at them
light487
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:36 PMHeadphones or not, the messenger cyclists run the red lights anyway. Just last week myself and the other 4 or 5 people crossing the road near Wynyard on George Street were nearly knocked over by a messenger cyclist coming around the stopped traffic, on to the wrong side of the road, straight through the intersection and back on to the correct side of the road.. going about 30km/h..
Headphones are not to blame.. it’s people’s attitude.
Rey
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:06 PM+1
Matt
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:33 PMMusic or no music, the railway incident would have happened, that was down to plain stupidity. Headphones cover the ears, not eyes, so there should be no safety issue there.
As for banning them in the city? What a ridiculous idea. I really don’t see what that would prove apart from the government being a bully.
Sicarius123
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:41 PMWhile I kind of agree about headphones while driving in one way, what’s the difference between headphones and having your windows up in a heavily sound deadened luxury car? You’re not going to hear outside noises, especially with music playing through the in car speakers.
Personally I don’t want to have anything to do with people hassling me for change on the street, trying to sell me rubbish, or hassle me for credit card details for their charity.
I’ll stick with my headphones and look where I’m going.
The Gremlin
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:41 PMI’ve tried using my ear buds whilst walking in the city and immediately felt it wasn’t a safe thing to do. I just didn’t like it.
I’m all for using it on the train or at the office, but driving or walking… unless you’re in a desolate area, no.
And sorry, but no, “keep your eyes open” is not enough. You can’t see car honking from behind you.
Sure, deaf people live like that permanently, does not mean we all should. Don’t know if it needs to be made illegal, but seems like common sense to me.
Danny
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:45 PMMy normal use earbuds are excellent at cutting out external noise. I wouldn’t use them when walking or driving. I like to listen to music or podcasts while driving, and play them through my car’s sound system. But if I drive a car where I can’t connect my ipod, I use alternate earbuds that don’t cut out external sounds. Almost as good at allowing me to hear the traffic as when using the car sound system. I wouldn’t like to see that banned.
I don’t like to use them when walking, though. You never know when it might mask the sounds of an approaching zombie or knife wielding maniac.
Ozoneocean
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:46 PMThe girl in the story had only 2 hours sleep and was in a hurry anyway. Headphones likely played almost no part in that incident.
And that’s true more generally too. Lack of sleep can reduce your brain function to dangerous levels… Exactly like being drunk or on drugs. And when people are in a rush anyway they do stupid things.
Shifting it to peripheral things like headphone use just totally ignores the real issue here.
light487
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:13 PMWhile it is true, as per my previous comments, that really it comes down to attitudes about safety and common sense.. of course there is also the effect that loud music can do to a person’s balance and other spatial awareness things.. as you’ve noted she had only 2 hours sleep.. and to totally discount the headphones would be folly.. but to say that the only reason for the accident was that she had headphones in and listening to music would be equally a folly.
Someguy
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:48 PMSeriously how about a bit of personal responsibility. Im legally blind, i listen to ipod while walking all the time, and yes i can bring myself to look both ways before crossing a road just like they taught us in primary school. and as of yet i haven’t been fate slapped with a car.
Jason
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:55 PMWhat about people with hearing impairments or are completey deaf? Will they be stopped from walking around in public or driving? I think not.
Adz
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:04 PMAs a runner and cyclist, I won’t do either with headphones, unless it’s a race I’m running. I find there are some close calls and not having my ears on would just make them unsafer.
Thom
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:08 PMI find the whole focus on headphones thing strange. Apparently she couldn’t here people screaming at her to watch out. That would be relevant if she hadn’t ignored flashing lights, and forced a safety barrier open.
sparhawk0
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:16 PMSeems similar to the argument that girls should dress more “demurely” in public so as not to distract men into having accidents.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38495739/ns/world_news-europe/t/mens-accident-rates-climb-womens-hemlines/
Untied shoelaces can kill people by tripping them up and a resulting unlucky blow to the head. Laws have a place for preventing deliberate acts of self-harm, but accidental deaths? Not unless it’s a situtation in which the accident is common and/or highly avoidable.
Then there’s enforcing a law like banning wearing headphones in public. You’d get the usual moron-brigade going to TT and ACA claiming the whole thing is a revenue-raising exercise. Then there’s irresponsible Allure websites that give people ideas on how to beat the law:
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/08/easily-install-a-pair-of-earbud-headphones-in-your-hoodie/
In term’s of your responsibility to others, well if that’s not something you consider anyway, then the legality of headphones, shoelaces, bikes, or anything aren’t going to make any difference.
202halffound
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 6:54 PMUmmm… it’s not illegal to listen to music while walking/driving. So the Lifehacker article isn’t teaching people how to break the law…
gorf
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 8:01 PMAllure media once had a article on one of there sights on how to grow Maraju sorry Tomatoes hydroponically.
MrTaco
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:38 PM“It rather surprised me to discover (via this SMH story) that it’s not actually illegal to drive while wearing headphones, although NSW head of police traffic command, Chief Superintendent John Hartley is quoted as saying in that story that it’s “not advisable”. I’d agree with that; in fact I think I’d favour actually making it illegal while driving, simply because your hearing is a good safety tool as part of your overall driving skills package.”
So then you’d have to make it illegal for people to listen to loud music without earphones too? But how loud is “loud”. Then would it be illegal to have noisy conversations in the car as well…?
Mark
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 4:59 PMCleaning out the gene pool. Natural selection. Whatever you want to call it,this was bound to happen one way or another…
Mot
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:14 PMThis has got nothing to do with headphones and everything to do with people taking responsibility for their own actions. Everyone always wants to blame someone else; the headphones, the rail crossing, etc.
Back in August, there was a woman killed by a V/Line train at Roxburgh Park when she jumped down from the platform onto the tracks. But apparently that was the fault of Metro for not having toilets at the station, and V/Line for not warning passengers that a train was about to pass through.
People need to accept that poor decisions can have catastrophic consequences.
JC
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:18 PMI feel sorry for the family of the case mentioned. Not for the girl.
Stupidity at it’s peak.
If you can’t get from A to B with headphones in then please just stay at home where you are not able to put me at risk.
I haven’t read any of the above comments but this whole issue just makes me rage. More kneejerk reactions from out of touch old farts in parliament.
David
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:36 PMI often walk with earbuds in while listening to music, but use that rather uncommon – Common sence!
If I cant hear, I am more likely to get run over so I keep a much better lookout for driveways, when crossing roads, and when walking past shopfronts because I have lost a rather important warning mechanism. I still have eyes so they do double time to keep me this side of the ground rather than 6 feet under it.
Wear headphones and get walk out infront of a car without looking – your fault, suck it up and, if you can, move on
LucasF
Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:50 PMPeople should have the presence of mind to realise that on roads and rail tracks things which are hard and weigh money tonnes travel at great speed. They can’t stop for you, you have to remember to watch. It is as simple as that. That is without factoring the stupid things drivers do all the time which puts you at enough risk just standing at a traffic intersection on the supposed safety of the footpath. Personally I always stand behind the traffic light pole…so I am not collected by anyone else T-Bone crash. If people were as paranoid as me – these things wouldn’t happen.