Should You Ever Ride and Text?
Do you know if you’re allowed to wear headphones while riding in your state? What about whether you can answer your phone, or send a quick text? If you’re not sure, you might want to check your local laws: States are cracking down on distracted cycling, with many debating potential laws, and some already imposing hefty fines. In addition to the legal issues, it's not safe: Distracted riding can be just as bad as distracted driving when it comes to basic road safety.
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline blog looked into what states are doing to prevent cyclists from making calls or sending texts while riding in traffic. While no lawmakers are equating cyclists to drivers in terms of the damage that they can cause, it is worth considering that a moment of distraction on your bike can be just as devastating to you as a driver on the same road looking down at her phone to send a text. And since so many cyclists rely on smartphones for in-ride entertainment or navigation, cyclists are often just as plugged in as drivers.
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In order to remedy this, the article explains, some states and cities have issued bans on hand-held phone use (especially texting) while riding, and some states even prohibit cyclists from using headphones. That might sound a bit overzealous, but lawmakers insist that it’s to reduce risk to cyclists.
Massachusetts state Rep. Steven Howitt told Pew, “If [bicyclists] want to share the road, they have to share the responsibility as well.” Eight states (California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) currently prohibit headphone use on bikes, though the laws vary state to state. A number of cities, including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Bozeman, Montana, have also issued laws against handheld phone use.
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The report notes that most cycling advocates aren’t in favor of laws banning phone use—they’re just in favor of cyclists using common sense and avoiding distracted riding. At this point, there simply aren’t statistics or research to back up the idea that riding with headphones in is inherently more dangerous than riding without, though common sense suggests that anything distracting a rider from the road isn’t doing him or her any favors. Advocates worry that an increase in laws governing cyclists could simply allow them to be an even easier target for police, who should be focusing on distracted drivers instead. That might explain why in several states, bills seeking to ban cyclists from using handheld phones have failed.
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What do you think about laws surrounding distracted cycling? Would you want your state to adopt laws to prevent it, or do you think cyclists should be allowed to text and ride? Let us know in the comments.
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