An alarming number of Toronto cyclists, it seems, are whizzing along the city's roads with the telltale white wires of the ubiquitous iPod dangling from their ears. One woman spotted on Gerrard Street East recently had her ears completely covered by giant retro-looking headphones.
Dr. Gridlock, who was once called a "safety Nazi" by a reader for having the audacity to quote experts suggesting that bike helmets tend to reduce the risk of head injuries, would never deign to tell the city's cycling music lovers what to do - the police should do that.
But guess what? Riding your bike on a busy street, with music blaring into your ears - risky as it may seem - is not illegal.
Toronto police, who just finished an enforcement blitz aimed at both motorists and cyclists, can't ticket earbud-wearers, unless they are riding erratically enough to warrant a dangerous-driving charge.
Constable Stephen Burns, who promotes traffic safety for the force, says he might stop an iPod-using cyclist just to give them a "talking to."
But just because there is no ticket to give out does not mean police think MP3 players and bikes are a good mix. As Constable Burns says: "How are you going to supposed to hear a car coming up behind you if you are cranking the tunes?"
The police do not keep statistics on how many of the 1,100 cyclists injured on Toronto roads each year were wearing earphones, and Constable Burns said he had no way of knowing whether the practice is on the rise.
A warning against plugging your ears and heading out on two wheels is featured in the police force's bike safety campaign for elementary schools, which is called "Use Your Melon." But among adults who should know better, there has been a curious silence on this issue.
While the water-cooler topic of cellphone-using drivers never seems to dry up, the topic of cyclists - or drivers for that matter, and yes I have seen them - listening to music piped through earbuds doesn't seem to have received the same attention.
In Britain last year, the problem leapt into the public debate after a 32-year-old law student, cycling to work in London, was hit by a truck and killed while wearing an iPod.
A friend speculated the MP3 player might have prevented her from hearing the approaching truck, and safety officials immediately issued warnings about earphones and bicycles.
Meanwhile, yet another cyclist has died in Toronto after a collision with a large vehicle - this time a city garbage truck. There was no mention of any earphones.
But after the city announced a media event to warn cyclists about the dangers of riding too close to trucks, bike activists issued an angry news release, saying the city has done little to increase safety for cyclists. They want side guards to protect cyclists from truck wheels - mandatory in Europe - and more bike lanes. And they are right.
However, too little of their outrage seems to get channelled into encouraging cyclists to take more responsibility for our own safety.
Wearing earphones is just one of a range of crazy risk-taking behaviours on display in bike lanes across the city, as is squeezing alongside giant trucks and buses and blowing through traffic lights.
This climate of craziness is also self-defeating if you are interested in promoting cycling, as it makes non-cyclists think taking a bike out onto Toronto's streets is strictly for the unhinged, when it should be for everyone.
Dr. Gridlock appears Mondays
