I cannot say that I am one that keeps up to date with the latest tech, if the old stuff does what I need it to do then I stick with it. However, during work meetings, my cheap old headset picked up every noise the dogs made and was also a distraction. A colleague had suggested getting a noise cancelling headset as they had found they really helped. So as a treat to myself, I bought a set which arrived this morning. They are absolutely brilliant but have one disadvantage. I had a call today and instinctively closed the door of my home office, but in the middle of the call, my office door was opened and my partner walked in with a cup of coffee. It scared the life out of me at first as he had gone out earlier and I was not expecting him home until later. He was astonished that I did not hear him come back as he said the dogs went berserk, barking and running around when he came in. The noise cancelling obviously works, and works very well.
It got me thinking though about two recent incidents. A few weeks ago, during our early morning run we saw a young lad delivering newspapers with large headphones on. He came out of a house, jumped on his bike and cycled along the footpath but the darted across the road and up onto the opposite footpath cutting right in front of a car. The driver sounded his horn (which must have woken up half the street), and then he slowed down and shouted abuse at the lad who was now walking up a to deliver another paper. He did not turn or acknowledge the car or its driver were there. I had assumed at the time that he was playing loud music through his headphones and so did not hear, or just chose to ignore it all. He also had no lights on his bike!
Shortly after that, I was out shopping and a young woman walking in front of me dropped a set of keys. I picked them up and called out but she did not turn around so I had to tap her arm to get her attention. She apologised and took out her earphones as I handed her the keys. Again having never experience noise cancelling technology, I had just assumed she was lost in whatever she was listening to.
When I was looking for my new headset, most of these devices seem to come with noise cancelling now and it is almost a standard feature. Although the technology is great, it does seem to be a bit of a safety risk if used on the street. I have had a few instances when running that cars have emerged from driveways where the view of the road and footpath is obscured. I have heard the engine and slowed down or stopped well before actually seeing the car move. Had I been using noise cancelling earphones, I would not have heard the car and may well have been hit.
When I was brought up, my parents were very much safety conscious. I was taught to wait at a zebra or pelican crossing for the cars to stop before crossing. If there was a road without a crossing, I was told to look both ways, walk (not run) and look and listen while I crossed. This may have made me over cautious but I have made it this far.
A friend of mine is a taxi driver and he believes that the changes to the Highway Code made recently where it now specifies the order of who has priority (pedestrians, bikes, horses, cars, lorries etc.) is the worse thing that could have been done. Any responsible person would have that view anyway. His opinion is that some pedestrians and bike riders now believe that no matter how stupidly they behave, if anything happens, its someone else's fault, they have no responsibility for their own safety or welfare.
The thought of running without being able to hear my surroundings would concern me. To be out walking and not hear someone call or even come up behind me would be worrying too. For a cyclist, it would seem to be madness to cut off one of your senses when being so vulnerable on the road.
Am I just too over cautious and worrying about nothing?
One more reason to do this...
Poignant Musical Moments on Your Runs
A fright and a giggle
