People with headphones on

[ElFenix]

Wtf is this crap? Balding dude in a BMW was driving with a full over the ear bose headset on. Why do people think this is a good idea?

 

[gorobei]

its full on illegal in california, and probably in the rest of the US.

 

[SearchMaster]

If he had a car full of kids I can almost understand it. If he was by himself he needs to fix his radio.

 

[Tweak155]

Because people are dumb.

 

[yhelothar]

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2012/06/illegal-to-drive-with-headphones.html

I agree that it's probably not smart to drive with headphones on if they block out sound. However, a lot of earphones don't block out a lot of sound, not much more than someone blaring their stereo.

With that said, deaf people are allowed to drive, and they actually are shown to have less traffic accidents than normal drivers.

 

[nerp]

Same guy in the "won't pull over for ambulance" thread?

 

[evident]

Same guy in the "won't pull over for ambulance" thread?

link to thread?

 

[tweakmonkey]

I think using the "deaf people are allowed to drive" defense is the worst excuse. Deaf people don't have a choice and they have trained their whole life to survive in a world without sound so they're probably a lot more observant than the average driver with headphones on

That said, I don't think headphones are nearly as dangerous as texting and driving and that's EVERYWHERE

 

[yhelothar]

I think using the "deaf people are allowed to drive" defense is the worst excuse. Deaf people don't have a choice and they have trained their whole life to survive in a world without sound so they're probably a lot more observant than the average driver with headphones on

That said, I don't think headphones are nearly as dangerous as texting and driving and that's EVERYWHERE

Maybe there's something that can be learned from them if they can adapt to not hearing and end up driving better than normal people.

This guy says he uses larger mirrors and looks more often.
http://www.alldeaf.com/our-world-our-culture/34678-how-do-deaf-people-drive.html

With that said, I'm not saying this means it's safe to drive with earphones that doesn't allow you to hear horns or sirens. But I think the deaf perspective shows that it's more important to pay attention while driving than anything.

 

[mmntech]

This is one of those things that I've never questioned the legality on because A) it's so dumb, and B) I've never seen anybody do it. Though I don't imagine it's any worse than the kids who go blasting their subs loud enough to drown out a jet engine.

 

[evident]

Almost got into an accident today when done Jack ass with headphones on was looking at his I phone and swerved into my lane on i95!!

 

[njdevilsfan87]

This is one of those things that I've never questioned the legality on because A) it's so dumb, and B) I've never seen anybody do it.

+1.

Even this guy didn't have headphones : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR1iUmq6ilA

 

[Dice144]

Almost got into an accident today when done Jack ass with headphones on was looking at his I phone and swerved into my lane on i95!!

When this happens I yell RAMMING SPEED and hit the gas!

 

[Kaido]

Wtf is this crap? Balding dude in a BMW was driving with a full over the ear bose headset on. Why do people think this is a good idea?

Funny you post this, I've seen a couple people with full headphones on while driving recently. I used to see people with earbuds all the time, either in crappy cars with horrible stereos (friends do this) or for people who have iPhones and use the white earbuds with the built-in mic on the cable to do hands-free calling while driving.

I think it's a horrible idea any way you cut it. You're driving a 2,000+ pound vehicle that could potentially maim or kill people and you're cutting yourself off to audible signals by covering your ears. I know several people who have been in texting & phone-call-related accidents and some of them have been pretty bad; imagine how it'd look if you crashed with a full set of headphones on

Entertaining relevant video:

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-exactly-what-you-want-to-do-to-every-driver-on-1190391630

 

[mmntech]

+1.

Even this guy didn't have headphones : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR1iUmq6ilA

Lol. The only thing that's missing is he isn't driving a white Lexus SUV. Ah, I'll have to toss this up on the twitters for back to school. ^_^

 

[CraigRT]

I see people wearing headphones while driving sometimes too and I just think... Why?
It does not seem like a good idea at all. People suck..

 

[thescreensavers]

Have you ever driven on the highway with noise canceling earphones? Its an interesting experience feeling your car..etc

I kinda like it, but only did it a few times when my phones ROM has BT issues.

On the highway with light traffic I don't see any harm.

 

[Tweak155]

Have you ever driven on the highway with noise canceling earphones? Its an interesting experience feeling your car..etc

I kinda like it, but only did it a few times when my phones ROM has BT issues.

On the highway with light traffic I don't see any harm.

*smacks forehead*

Sounds like the same logic of not using a turn signal because you know no other vehicles are around. Completely missing the concept of such a device.

 

[pauldun170]

Head phones vs Stereo system full blast...
FIGHT!!

 

[SithSolo1]

I've seen more than a few people with earbuds in listening to mp3 players. I attempted it once and went about two blocks before I yanked them out. Not being able to hear anything but the music freaked me out, didn't feel safe at all.

 

[Pantoot]

Weird, I wear earplugs when I ride the motorcycle, and I certainly don't feel unsafe.

 

[ElFenix]

Weird, I wear earplugs when I ride the motorcycle, and I certainly don't feel unsafe.

"A motorcycle is much cheaper to run than a car. It takes only half a litre of fuel to get from your house to the scene of your first fatal accident."

 

[desura]

I do it all the time. I see no harm.

As long as you pay attention visually, that's all that matters.

Now, people watching movies or reading books while driving (yes, it happens) that is insane.

But headphones functionally isn't that different from having speakers in your car. You will be slightly distracted by the music and you won't be able to hear as much of the outside world. But you can still see and drive fine.

Otherwise...we should not soundproof our cars, because we want the driver to hear every bit of road noise possible.

 

[Tweak155]

I do it all the time. I see no harm.

As long as you pay attention visually, that's all that matters.

Now, people watching movies or reading books while driving (yes, it happens) that is insane.

But headphones functionally isn't that different from having speakers in your car. You will be slightly distracted by the music and you won't be able to hear as much of the outside world. But you can still see and drive fine.

Otherwise...we should not soundproof our cars, because we want the driver to hear every bit of road noise possible.

What the heck?

I can't believe there are attempts to justify this. Blaring the radio is equally a bad justification. No driver in their right mind should argue that driving without the radio on is safer than driving with it off.

 

[desura]

What the heck?

I can't believe there are attempts to justify this. Blaring the radio is equally a bad justification. No driver in their right mind should argue that driving without the radio on is safer than driving with it off.

but driving with the radio on in a modern soundproofed car is no different from driving with headphones on.

If you're going to attack people who wear headphones while driving, you'd better attack people with radios in their cars.