People driving with earphones on....

I wear them on the way to work to listen to comedy podcasts (usually listen to music on the car stereo on the way back). Yes it does insulate you from the noise of the road but so does having the windows shut.

As for some in this thread who say you aren't tuned into the road if you're wearing headphones, it's quite amusing to imagine them at one with their machine, all their senses dialled in to the road, driving with the awareness of an owl :)
 
Don't use headphones when driving. But thinking about it, don't really see it as any worse than driving with speakers turned up to volume where you can hear it from other cars...
 
Saw an extreme version of this with some bloke in his brand new Bentley Conti GT, with what looked like a call centre headset strapped to him! Business on the move, he looked like a prat.
 
Earphones can cause vertigo, probably very unlikely but its still there.
I dont know about anyone else but my awareness goes down the pan when i wear earphones, loud music has similar effects but not to anywhere near the same extent. needless to say i'm always wary of anyone driving with earphones in!
 
bainbridge said:
I wear them on the way to work to listen to comedy podcasts (usually listen to music on the car stereo on the way back). Yes it does insulate you from the noise of the road but so does having the windows shut.

As for some in this thread who say you aren't tuned into the road if you're wearing headphones, it's quite amusing to imagine them at one with their machine, all their senses dialled in to the road, driving with the awareness of an owl :)
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You can always rely on Motors to assemble with pitchforks at short notice. :p

I often listen to some gangsta tunes on my earphones when driving to the gym. Gets me in the mood. Haven't killed myself once yet.
 
mike gunnz said:
You can always rely on Motors to assemble with pitchforks at short notice. :p

I often listen to some gangsta tunes on my earphones when driving to the gym. Gets me in the mood. Haven't killed myself once yet.
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Agreed.

I've frequently used earphones whilst driving, usually because the truck (44t six axle artic) has no radio or the one that's fitted won't work.

To my mind it's far safer to do such a thing and remain stimulated by listening to something to break the monotony of what could be upto 10hours spent driving over a 15hour shift - try a two hour journey with your radio off and you'll probably imagine where I'm coming from once you multiply that by 5!

Recalling how unbearable such stints were in the days before I had my iPhone, I'd argue it's actually safer.

I've been stopped for roadside checks by the likes of VOSA and the Police whilst wearing earphones and not had any problem because of it.

I find I can still handle the truck just fine with them in,and if it's a refrigerated trailer I'm pulling, the earphones nicely drown out the drone of the refrigeration unit (directly behind the cab) which can drive you scatty!
 
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opstrat said:
its clearly a valid argument that people are overlooking.

deaf people are allowed to drive but people that i have perfect hearing are not allowed to wear headphones while driving.
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No it isn't.

I'm allowed to drive with one hand because I only have one. You try driving past a police station with one hand on the wheel and a phone or something in the other and see how far you get :p

The is no specific law against idiots driving with headphones on (I guess this is because historically most people have been smart enough not to) but it would certainly count as driving without due care and attention.
 
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Scania said:
Agreed.

I've frequently used earphones whilst driving, usually because the truck (44t six axle artic) has no radio or the one that's fitted won't work.
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Ok, now the thought of a 44 ton lorry driver wearing headphones is downright ****ing scary.

What happens when you're doing 56mph on a 2 lane dual carraigeway, go to overtake a slow moving van/car/lorry, check your mirrors & blind spot, indicate, move out, and in the time between checking your mirrors and moving out, a biker who was directly behind you in your blind spot is now alongside, and as you've moving into his space in the outside lane, he's got his horn on full blast, only for you to not be able to hear him because you're "drowning out the noise of the refridgeration unit" or tapping along to that song you love, and you keep pulling out, forcing the biker to brake, lock up/hit the central resveration, and go under your wheels, crushing his skill/spine/ribs etc. killing him instantly.

:confused::mad:

Seriously? I'd have though being in control of a machine that is capable of killing multiple people in the space of a few seconds, you'd know that you need ALL your wits about you and have to rely on ALL your senses. Fair enough, trying to stay awake and alert, but that's a completely different issue, and you shouldn't be driving if you're falling asleep at the wheel. :mad::rolleyes:

Headphones ARE different from listening to the radio, they block out more sound, you can't argue that. With loud music you can still hear other things around you, headphones block anywhere from some to all external noise.

And yes deaf people can drive cars, but as someone else said, they compensate with their other sense, and aren't distracted by the music balring in their ears.
 
TallPaul_S said:
Ok, now the thought of a 44 ton lorry driver wearing headphones is downright ****ing scary.
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I would have to agree with that, if the was ever a vehicle which shouldn't be insulated from car horns and sirens then a gigantic one with blind spots and enough mass to disintegrate a land rover defiantly fits the bill lol.
 
In answer to the terrified people here horrified at the prospect of an earphone wearing driver, be it an an HGV or not, if the volume level is to such an extent you can't hear anything else, sure, fair enough, I would quite agree with you.

I don't drive with mine on a high setting, I can, for example, still hear the clicking sound my indicators make, you can still hear the trucks engine and indeed a reefer unit (although it's no where near as intrusive or irritating as listening to just the sound if it) and, wonder of wonders, if my window is slightly down, I can still hear passing traffic, never mind a car or bike horn.


This action of not having the headphones or indeed cab / car radio at a volume level that drives out all other ambient noises is otherwise known as common sense!
 
ubersonic said:
No I haven't, I suggest you look up the word specific.
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Not wanting to get into the realms of pantomime here but…you have. And the term ‘specific’ has nothing to do with it.

You can’t argue that it would certainly count as a driving offence if you’re also acknowledging that there is no specific law against it.

My view is that a court would have to establish that driving whilst wearing headphones caused you to drive in a manner that meant you were driving without undue care and attention.

This is my opinion. I’m not a lawyer and I may be incorrect in my assumptions, but this does seem like a fairly simple concept to grasp.

Perhaps someone else with legal training will offer a view.
 
mike gunnz said:
Not wanting to get into the realms of pantomime here but…you have.
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No I really haven't, and it's in the realms of basic logic/common sense


mike gunnz said:
And the term ‘specific’ has nothing to do with it.
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Actually it has everything to do with it...


mike gunnz said:
You can’t argue that it would certainly count as a driving offence if you’re also acknowledging that there is no specific law against it.
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The is no specific law against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded, but it would certainly constitute a driving offence. The whole reason broad offences like DWDCA exist is so we don't need specific laws against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded or driving while listening to music on earphones.
 
ubersonic said:
The is no specific law against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded, but it would certainly constitute a driving offence. The whole reason broad offences like DWDCA exist is so we don't need specific laws against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded or driving while listening to music on earphones.
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Well you'd probably fail an eyesight test if you were blindfolded anyway :p
 
ubersonic said:
No I really haven't, and it's in the realms of basic logic/common sense




Actually it has everything to do with it...




The is no specific law against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded, but it would certainly constitute a driving offence. The whole reason broad offences like DWDCA exist is so we don't need specific laws against driving backwards down a motorway while blindfolded or driving while listening to music on earphones.
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Why are you using extreme and pointless hyperbole in order to justify your argument?

We're not discussing driving backwards down a motorway whilst blindfolded though are we? No sane person would dispute that. We're discussing wearing headphones whilst driving.

You seem to think that wearing headphones whilst driving certainly counts as a driving offence.

I beg to differ for the reasons given above. In my view whether it counts as DWDCA will be case dependent. There's nothing 'certain' about it.
 
I would imagine most are for handsfree.

Before I got my headunit with hands free I used headphones for that reason, however I used black heaphones rather than the white apple style ones so it didn't look so obvious as it does just look like you are listening to music!
 
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