Dutchman cleared of 'manslaughter by furious or wanton driving' in Manchester .

[steveindenmark]

If the speed limit (for motor vehicles) is 30 mph and he is riding at 40 mph, he is still not committing any offences. Unless the speed is a contributory factor to other offences such as furious cycling or reckless conduct (is that just Scottish law? Maybe... ).

Speed limits do not apply to non motorised vehicles in the UK..

Long may these freedoms continue. I for one do not want to be subject to the same laws as car drivers. There are obvious reasons why they are quite rightly subject to more stringent laws, which most of them seem to ignore anyway.

You are of course correct regarding the speed and not mo

Yes.

Headphones shut out most of the external noise, there is a lot you will hear over the sound of the radio that you wouldn't if you had headphones on. Even with the windows shut in a car.

That depends on which headphones you are wearing. I wear bone conductor headphones and my ears are not covered. I can hear everything around me and hold a conversation. The ones that cover your ears should be made illegal in vehicles and on bikes.

 

[Alex321]

That depends on which headphones you are wearing. I wear bone conductor headphones and my ears are not covered. I can hear everything around me and hold a conversation. The ones that cover your ears should be made illegal in vehicles and on bikes.

I've always called the ones which cover your ears "headphones" and the ones which don't "earphones". I thought that was standard usage, but it seems maybe not, from posts in this thread.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The ones that cover your ears should be made illegal in vehicles and on bikes.

Another person advocating deaf people should not ride bikes

 

[Alex321]

Another person advocating deaf people should not ride bikes

No he wasn't.

A person with good hearing blocking that is not very similar to being permanently deaf. Deaf people learn to compensate for their lack of hearing. People who can normally hear OK rarely have the same compensatory skills.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

No he wasn't.

A person with good hearing blocking that is not very similar to being permanently deaf. Deaf people learn to compensate for their lack of hearing. People who can normally hear OK rarely have the same compensatory skills.

You know this from personal experience do you? I wish people would stop telling me about my super powers that I have no knowledge of

 

[Alex321]

You know this from personal experience do you? I wish people would stop telling me about my super powers that I have no knowledge of

No, I don't have personal experience (thankfully). And it is not some "superpower", it is just that People lacking one sense HAVE to rely more on their other senses, and as a consequence they do usually see more (in the case of deaf people)/ hear more (in the case of blind people such as my granddaughter) than those of us with all our senses.

I am reasonably sure that if you are deaf, you are still very nearly as aware of what is going on around you as I am, and more aware than I would be if I were wearing headphones.

 

[steveindenmark]

There are many variab

I've always called the ones which cover your ears "headphones" and the ones which don't "earphones". I thought that was standard usage, but it seems maybe not, from posts in this thread.

But are earphones also those that you stick in your ears? Bone conductor heaďphones are quite a new terminology.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I am reasonably sure that if you are deaf, you are still very nearly as aware of what is going on around you as I am, and more aware than I would be if I were wearing headphones.

Your logic appears flawed by your own admission I am already more aware than you (with or without my nonexistent superpower), adding headphones to the equation is irrelevant, it is also irrelevant to this tragic accident as what the cyclist could or could not hear would not have made any difference, unless somebody had shouted to him "Watch out that man is about to step out into the road"

What's your thoughts on a deaf person riding whilst wearing earplugs?

 

[Alex321]

There are many variab


But are earphones also those that you stick in your ears? Bone conductor heaďphones are quite a new terminology.

Yes, I've never actually come across those before, and not sure what terminology really covers them from that POV. I suppose they are a type of "headphone", even though they don't cover the ears or block external sound.

 

[Alex321]

Your logic appears flawed by your own admission I am already more aware than you (with or without my nonexistent superpower), adding headphones to the equation is irrelevant, it is also irrelevant to this tragic accident as what the cyclist could or could not hear would not have made any difference, unless somebody had shouted to him "Watch out that man is about to step out into the road"

What's your thoughts on a deaf person riding whilst wearing earplugs?

I fully agree it is irrelevant to this accident.

I'm not sure just where I have suggested you might be more aware than I am. My words were "you are still very nearly as aware of what is going on around you as I am".

If they are profoundly deaf, then wearing earplugs is not going to make any difference.

I don't necessarily agree with the previous poster that wearing headphones should be made illegal when driving or cycling, but I do think it is not a good idea to voluntarily wear something that reduces your overall ability to sense what is going on around you without good reason, and I can understand the reasoning behind that suggestion.

And that doesn't just apply to driving or cycling, but to any activity that carries significant risk if you fail to notice something. Obviously, there are situations where you have no real choice in the matter, such as environments so noisy you have to wear headphones to avoid damaging your hearing, or so bright you have to wear a mask to avoid damaging your eyesight. But those come under the "without good reason" above.

 

[Milkfloat]

I don't necessarily agree with the previous poster that wearing headphones should be made illegal when driving or cycling, but I do think it is not a good idea to voluntarily wear something that reduces your overall ability to sense what is going on around you without good reason, and I can understand the reasoning behind that suggestion.

So I assume you never use the radio in your car and keep the windows open at all times? Did you put a special order in to not have any tint on your car windows, how about the size of the A and B pillars?

A would suggest that looking at the risks and compensations would be a good idea.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

These ‘enhancements’ to a particular sense brought about by the absence of another really only apply to those born with that loss. There is no change for those who, for example, were born with hearing but become deaf later in life.

I’m hearing impaired since about eight years ago, requiring two hearing aids, but even when I don’t have them in, I often hear the music from cars that have all their windows up. If I can do that from inside a bus, what’s it sound like inside the car? Nobody seems to get as agitated about that as they do when a cyclist wears earphones, even though they have no idea what volume is set or if they are even playing anything.

Why does one form of transport attract this criticism but not the other? My view is that it stems from the same nannying attitude displayed by those who nag cyclists for not wearing a helmet (no debate here, please). They don’t know what they’re talking about but they hear it parroted so often that somehow ‘it stands to reason’ so they trot it out too.

 

[PK99]

You know this from personal experience do you? I wish people would stop telling me about my super powers that I have no knowledge of

From my post up-thread

The science is pretty clear: Deaf people compensate using other senses

But:

Previous research, including studies performed by the lab director, Helen Neville Ph.D., has shown that people who are born deaf are better at processing peripheral vision and motion. Deaf people may process vision using many different brain regions, especially auditory areas, including the primary auditory cortex.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/2012/nih-study-shows-deaf-brain-processes-touch-differently#:~:text=Previous research, including studies performed,including the primary auditory cortex.

And:
A new study provides evidence of this rewiring in the brains of deaf people. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, shows people who are born deaf use areas of the brain typically devoted to processing sound to instead process touch and vision. Perhaps more interestingly, the researchers found this neural reorganization affects how deaf individuals perceive sensory stimuli, making them susceptible to a perceptual illusion that hearing people do not experience

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/superpowers-for-the-blind-and-deaf/

 

[Milkfloat]

From my post up-thread

The science is pretty clear: Deaf people compensate using other senses

0.2% of people are born deaf, whilst 15% of people over 18 have hearing loss. The percentage of people with hearing issues who can compensate it pretty low.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

0.2% of people are born deaf, whilst 15% of people over 18 have hearing loss. The percentage of people with hearing issues who can compensate it pretty low.

Especially when they were promised their new hearing aids on the 15th August & they are still waiting after it taking 8 weeks to get an appointment in the first place.