Does listening to music pose a safety risk?

[alienator]

We had a ******** who had an MP3 player and headphones in one of our club races:thumbdown: I saw him at the start fiddling with the cord etc.  I should've told him to turn it off and take them out and if he hadn't done that I should've told the starting official (a woman not to be messed with).  There can be a bit of yelling etc in our races and if they don't hear it it can be dangerous or split the bunch etc.  Also it annoyed me that he thought so little of our race that he wanted other entertainment:thumbdown: BBB

It's the same on the streets. I've pedaled by too many cyclists on the road that were unaware of other cyclists around them--and generally unaware of a lot of things around them--because they had their ear canals impaled on ear buds. Safety aspect aside, such riders seem to show an astounding lack of courtesy for those around them.

 

[oscacom]

I'm spanish and in my country is forbidden ear music while you ride. You can be punished with a high money sanction.
I think to ride you must ear vehicles that are near to you or your security is under risk.

 

[PDIstudent]

All these responses are greatly appreciated thanks. I've developed my idea slighty, would anyone mind filling out this survey?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DK666DH

Cheers