MONTREAL - Monteralers bicycling to the beats could be steering themselves directly downhill into Ticketland.
Montreal poilce is letting riders know that they face $52 tickets for the act of riding a bicycle while sporting wearing earphones or earbuds. They've written up 200 so far this year.
They report that the crackdown is necessary because riding without hearing the sounds of the road make the task too dangerous.
“In Montreal, the number one cause of all accidents for all the users is distraction,” said Montreal police representative Nathalie Valois.
But not all riders are thrilled to hear of the ban on beats, including Jerome Arbour, who enjoys cycling with sound.
“I’ve got to have it because instead it's too stressing here it's too much noise pollution,” he said.
Ditto for Kristin Hoffman.
“I love listening to music even when I bike,” she said.
But Velo Quebec agrees with the ban.
“It's simply not a good idea to listen to music when you're cycling. You lose your attention and ears are really important for cycling, it's kind of like a mirror for us,” said Jean-Francois Pronovost of Velo-Quebec.
Some riders found it hypocritical that no ban is in place for car drivers who are free to play their music as loud as they choose.
“I think it's completely stupid, it's just a way to make more money,” said Arbour.
