Driving with earphones?

whiskeyman

One factor that so many keep missing is not the sound volume or act of holding phones, but the impact of being in a discussion while driving should be focused as the main danger.
Your brain simply can not dedicate 100% to driving as a task if you're talking / in discussion / listening at the same time.
You may notice should you be turning a corner / maneuvering while talking, you'll tend to stop and put full focus into it.
This is why *any* use of mobile devices (handfree etc..) is dangerous IMO.

Next time you have a passenger in the car and you're chatting away, you'll probably notice (or if you are a passenger) them stop talking should you execute a maneuver like overtaking etc... this is because they know you need full attention.
By being preoccupied on a call can distract a driver from essential reaction time which could result in many of the fatalities that occur on Irish roads annually.

While on a call, the person the driver is speaking to has no idea on the drivers position / speed / location etc...
I remember seeing a possible invention where the caller would actually see a live dashcam output of the driver so they knew any possible dangers the driver could face.

Jesus.

^^
That's a fair point Whiskeyman

livedadream

irish bloke wrote: »

Still don’t know where you are going with this.

Is driving with headphones driving with undue care and attention? No..
If your behavior changes because of this action then yes, but this could be said for any driving action. - You are making the relationship between headphones and driving with undue care and attention mutually inclusive, which they are not.

im not going anywhere with it.

I'm saying it's situational. If you have earphones in and are, because of this, driving with undue care and attention to the road and other road users then that is illegal. The penalty of which is decided by the Garda that observes you.

ie: a warning, fixed charge, penalty points:

driving without reasonable consideration penalty points: 2,
points on conviction: 4, paid in €28 days: paid in next 28 days €120

apologies i think this is actually called Driving without reasonable consideration or driving while unfit.

irish bloke

livedadream wrote: »

im not going anywhere with it.

If you have earphones in and are, because of this, driving with undue care and attention to the road and other road users then that is illegal. .

Im not disputing this, just like if you driving with the radio up (or any other legal action) with undue care and attention, then this is also illegal.

What I am saying is you are directly linking earphones to driving with undue care and attention, which is wrong IMO.

livedadream

irish bloke wrote: »

Im not disputing this, just like if you driving with the radio up (or any other legal action) with undue care and attention, then this is also illegal.

What I am saying is you are directly linking earphones to driving with undue care and attention, which is wrong IMO.

im not at all, at least thats not my intention,the same as i quipped about driving with your feet or eyes closed.

there are numerous things i do while driving that others cant and vice versa, that doesnt make it blanket safe or unsafe.

the same as all the dad's i knew when we were kids used to the driving with their knees (look no hands) thing, while theres not specific law against it, it certainly isnt safe.

ive seen people be pulled over as recently as last week while driving and eating a 99. presumably they were told they were driving with undue care and attention.

I never said driving with earphones in was unsafe. I dont do it so therefore wouldnt know.

Henry Ford III

The aurally impaired learn techniques to help them whilst driving. Increased attention to certain things such as spatial awareness etc. to attempt to make up for their difficulties in hearing.

Putting on a set of earphones which will deliberately limit or compromise a drivers ability can't be a good idea in any circumstances.

I see more and more people driving with headphones lately and one or two are friends of mine.

Listening to podcasts is the main reason one of them wears them and also for making and receiving calls as the car has no bluetooth.

JoeA3

No idea on the legality of it but it's definitely not clever imo. Headphones drastically reduce your spatial awareness. There's a big difference between listening to the regular car speakers at top volume and listening to earphones even at a moderate volume.
I've even seen a few people driving whilst wearing "Beats" headphones. Drivers like that should be given a very wide berth...

jca

JoeA3 wrote: »

No idea on the legality of it but it's definitely not clever imo. Headphones drastically reduce your spatial awareness. There's a big difference between listening to the regular car speakers at top volume and listening to earphones even at a moderate volume.
I've even seen a few people driving whilst wearing "Beats" headphones. Drivers like that should be given a very wide berth...

If only for their terrible taste in headphones...

ironclaw

Luella Damaged Tutorial wrote: »

Listening to podcasts is the main reason one of them wears them and also for making and receiving calls as the car has no bluetooth.

I never understood how someone can pay a couple of €1000 for a car, a couple of €100 on a phone, but not the €50 it takes to install a cheap handsfree kit. You can retrofit just about any car with bluetooth in anything from 5 mins to an hour at minimal cost. It won't be perfect, but its far more comfortable.

livedadream

Luella Damaged Tutorial wrote: »

I see more and more people driving with headphones lately and one or two are friends of mine.

Listening to podcasts is the main reason one of them wears them and also for making and receiving calls as the car has no bluetooth.

buy him an AUX cable...

thats what i use... iphone mp3 all works,