Should cyclists wear headphones or earphones? Chair of Irelands parliamentary Committee on Transport wants your views Its an extremely divisive subject but little to suggest its more distracting than a car radio.The chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport is seeking the publics views on wearing earphones or headphones while cycling a common complaint about cycling even when motorists are cocooned in soundproofing and loud sound systems. The committee chairperson, Michael Murphy, who is a Fine Gael TD for South Tipperary, said: Do you think cycling with earpods and headphones is dangerous? I want your opinion.As chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, I want to seek your views on something Ive noticed more and more cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users, and we have a real duty of care to protect them on Irish roads, but I regularly see cyclists wearing headphones or earbuds and for me that raises a really important question: Does the use of headphones or earbuds reduce your awareness around you? he said in a video posted to Facebook and Instagram.He added: So should cyclists avoid wearing earbuds or headphones on public roads, or do you think it is perfectly safe?Some people cycling like those driving listen to the radio, podcasts or music, but some people cycling also use headphones to overcome sensory overload or just the loud volume of traffic, while still being able to hear. When a possible fine for cycling with headphones was raised in 2015, Keith Byrne, the then chair of the Dublin Cycling Campaign, said: I know plenty of people who cycle with earphones on, and they can still hear traffic while listening to music or drive-time radio. Someone can legally drive while talking on their phone with their headsets plugged in. You could argue this causes the same level of distraction.Researchers have repeatedly for decades found that talking on a phone hands-free while driving is just as distracting as holding a phone, but it has been a blind spot for lawmakers and the public. In 2023, a survey by a Swiss member of the European Transport Safety Council found that a tiny proportion of drivers understand the dangers of talking on the phone hands-free while driving. Gemma Briggs, an applied cognitive psychologist with a specific interest in attention and perception, explains the issue in a 2022 article.She said: Decades of research has demonstrated drivers on the phone arefour timesmore likely to be involved in an accident than undistracted drivers, regardless of whether theyre using a hand-held or hands-free system. This increased risk lasts for aroundfive minutesafter the call has ended, suggesting that interacting with the technology isnt the only issue. It seems that phone conversations take the drivers focus away from their primary task of driving, even after theyve hung up. People are largely unaware that their minds wander like this, or that it can affect their driving.Phone use is seen as generally more distracting than in-car conversations, as passengers can more easily react to situations on the road or prompts from drivers.Research funded by car company Ford suggests that when listening to music, both cyclists and drivers reaction times are delayed by 4 seconds.On cycling with headphones, RideOn, an Australian cycling magazine, conducted an experiment and found that people cycling with earbuds playing music at a reasonable volume hear much more outside noise than a car driver, even when that driver has no music playing.Gary Walker, managing editor of BikeRadar, said in a 2025 article: Having spent two years testing headphones from most of the major players, Im here to tell you: cycling with headphones is safe as long as you do it properly.He added: Cycling with headphones is an extremely divisive subject and, lets be clear: I dont advocate putting on a pair of on-ear or in-ear headphones, maxing out the volume and riding along your nearest dual-carriageway at Pogaar-adjacent speed that is very clearly not safe.
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