People need to stop worrying about the effects of natural selection.

47 people couldn't walk and listen to music at the same time.

Sorry- Flawed study. Basically everyone is wearing frigging head phones these days making this study BS. 

i saw this on the morning news days ago.... and they addressed that these headphones lead to pedestrian collisions with automobiles or as i like to call them cars, they said head phones are a health risk but for once, just one time can't we address that its the drivers killing people and not the headphones? its drivers who are overly aggressive, speeding in densely populated area that are the real risk  When Mathieu Lefevre was fatally struck by a truck this was chalked up to cycling is dangerous and accidents happen. When Erica Abbot was fatally hit on Bushwick ave construction was blamed.....when are we going to start blaming the drivers and the cars? I dont think wearing headphones is always the wisest decision but why cant the mainstream media even touch on the real risk. 

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turn back before its too late!

It's quite simple - when in public PAY FUCKING ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND YOU AT ALL TIMES

There is this old concept - common sense, USE IT

Wha?

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about cyclists with headphones...How stupid can you be?

True!  & like, what the hell, cars come with stereos in them!  Crazy.

If you want to rig a stereo to your handlebars Puerto Rican Pride style, then fine. You'll piss people off with the noise but at least you can still sense someone at the rear. I just don't understand the level of risk when I see cyclists with headphones. But again...maybe I'm just like totes a wussy girl or something.

"If you want to rig a stereo to your handlebars Puerto Rican Pride style..."
OK I admit I did that.  I am both safe and musical!  

Though my speakers are quiet enough that others can't really hear the music unless they are right next to me.

I'm being a bit silly. I too hate it when I see bikers wearing headphones. It is just interesting the level of distraction we're comfortable with. Cars-- windows rolled up & music on-- are not paragons of safety either.

not for nothing, but it's illegal to wear headphones while biking. it obviously isn't illegal to listen to a stereo system in a car. there's a big difference between the two.

Actually there's not. Cars are so heavily sound-proofed these days that police and emergency vehicle sirens have had to be made too loud to use around pedestrians in order to be heard inside cars. The dB level of new police and emergency vehicle sirens is in the level that will cause damage to unprotected ears.

Stereos in cars don't cancel out the noise and environment around you, and headphones while driving is even worse. As a cyclist it's important that you pay attention to every detail around you, and I don't understand how you can do this with headphones...Maybe it's just a sixth sense I lack. Or perhaps headphones are an efficient way of weeding out idiots...

Deaf people drive. I guess it's not the same as paying attention to loud music though.

That is true, although you can argue that deaf people have developed ways of coping, whereas completely voiding your sense of hearing on a bike sounds risky...I'm starting to sound like a Mom

That's why I keep my crappy iPod headphones. I do not like to wear my bigger - better quality - headphones outside of an enclosed environment. I do not walk with them either way. Neither should anyone! I'm looking at you ladies walking alone.

Having said that, 47 victims is a meaningless statistic.

And, off course, the conclusion of the people who produced the report (as judged from reading the abstract) is simply that "further research is needed to determine if and how headphone use compromises pedestrian safety." They're making no claim at all that the methodology used is sufficient to come to any real conclusions. They're letting the media and bloggers jump right to those.