Hot dogs , a new dirtbike , and the Sex Pistols made for a potent powder keg that erupted in the foothills soon after this photo was taken .
free cellphone calls ) doesn ’ t seem to be an issue ? What gives ?
Oh , and while we ’ re kicking this around , what about the years of riding my police bike at work , with constant patrol chatter in my ears every day ?
When I crashed my RM125 , I just blamed the music , tossed the pulverized Walkman in the trash , and went on with life . But should I have blamed all of it on the music ?
Although I would actively listen for any exigent situations that would pop up , it never caused me to spontaneously lose focus and panic-steer into rows of runaway shopping carts when alert tones screamed into my helmet .
Well , after years in the laboratory of life , I ’ ve come to conclude that : A ) torcycle means we have multiple competing cues , and which aspects of the event we process will impact outcomes . In other words , listening to music may pull my attention away ( however slight ) from some of the critically important tasks necessary to ride the motorcycle safely . Bottom line here : The higher the workload , the greater the probability we could lose some focus .
But let me get back to the situation that birthed my auditory quest in the first place . When I crashed my RM125 , I just blamed the music , tossed the pulverized Walkman in the trash , and went on with life . But should I have blamed all of it on the music ? Would the outcome have been different if I had a loud 2-stroke engine screaming in my ears instead of the music ? How is that also not a distraction within that rapidly changing environment ? Furthermore , don ’ t most helmets generate enough wind noise at speeds over 50 mph to constitute somewhat of a distraction all by themselves ? So why then does it matter what specific noises overwhelm my ears at the time ? Maybe it doesn ’ t . And if it doesn ’ t , how can we say that music in my motorcycle helmet proximately caused my crash , yet daily enjoyment of music while safely controlling my car ( with the added complication of handsmusic doesn ’ t meaningfully contribute to the loss of situational awareness I already experience when wearing a bulky helmet that limits my field of view , my range of head motion , and my ability to hear ( especially with ear protection in place ); and B ) music doesn ’ t singlehandedly degrade my coordination on the bike by stripping me of my ability to focus , evidenced by all the other things I can do in life while simultaneously listening to music .
So where does this leave us ? I no longer believe music is a big bad monster ; it ’ s more nuanced than that . Music is only one of many stimuli competing for my attention on the ride . The real predicament is that sometimes our situational workload will be very low and other times it will be quite high . We need to recognize precisely when and where that shift happens so we can make the necessary adjustments to mitigate a loss of focus when we need it most .
For example , if I ’ m cruising along a gently winding canyon road on a clear , dry day with no traffic and a long line of sight , music in the helmet won ’ t be a safety concern because my situational workload is very low . But later in the ride , when I find myself in heavy evening traffic while lane-splitting in the rain , I am faced with a far higher workload to manage , and my focus and processing will need to ratchet up significantly . You will see me go from a laid-back relaxed rider to shutting off the tunes ( fewer distractions , better concentration ), lowering my speed ( greater perception , improved reaction time ), dropping my windscreen ( better line of sight ), moving my body into a “ ready ” position ( better control , faster reaction time ), making sure I ’ m covering the front brake ( reaction time again ), and beginning to take slow , deep breaths ( increased focus and concentration ) as I navigate traffic . Once the coast is clear , I will reset into a more relaxed state , flip the cassette tape over , and let my freebird fly .
So go ahead and listen to music while you ride ; it ’ s fine . But understand that it ’ s up to you to bring your knowledge , experience , and moment-to-moment assessment to the dance to determine when it ’ s time to shut out the distractions and focus on what ’ s coming your way .
Quinn wears Lee Parks Design gloves exclusively . Find out more at Quinn ’ s website , PoliceMotorTraining . com . Send feedback to rider @ ridermagazine . com .
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