Visualizing this makes me smile. :)
There can be only one Armando.
Nobody in this thread suggesting using over the ear headphones while driving. That is nuts.
And yet legal in North Carolina. Deaf drivers are also allowed in all 50 states (meaning, it is not a requirement to hear in order to drive.) Some states do ban headphones, ours is not one of them.
I can’t actually think of any instances off the top of my head where being able to hear something was the difference between being safe and being unsafe while driving. In fact, often times the ability to hear is a detriment! Distraction from phone calls, people talking to you in the car, etc. Not to mention the phenomenon (studied within the last few years, although I’m not going to bother digging it up) where even a generally benign input like music becomes burdensome during moments of intense concentration or other sensory overload. Cars are pretty sound isolated from the environment to begin with.
Nice snark. Airpods playing a podcast on low volume don’t inhibit me from having a conversation at normal volume with my wife, or hearing cars when I’m walking.
There’s a big difference between noise cancelling headphones (by physical design or electronics) and open design earbuds.
There have been studies that show a difference between phone calls, car conversations, music and talk radio/podcasts, and how impacts your driving.
As for listening, while driving, I am glad you felt safe, but I do wonder if those that were driving around you felt the same. Just because the odds so far have landed in your favor, doesnt mean you weren’t rolling the dice to being with.
I personally find it helpful to hear the clicking noise when I use the turn signal. It helps me be a more considerate drive, not to have more left blinker on after I’ve changed lanes.
It also helps me sometimes hear cars before I can see them, especially when they are in my blind spot. You never know when that audio cue helps, even in subtle ways.
And, in the case of Sirens, not so subtle ways. I general hear sirens before I see the, giving me more time to pull to side to let them by.
Again, none of these may have a huge impact on my driving, but considering how risky driving is to begin with, I will take all the help I can get.
Also, if I get into an accident, I would rather not have something small that can be jammed into my ear by the force of a collision. That’s probably the best reason just to plug the phone into the car using the standard, perfectly designed Aux cable.
I believe more recent research has demonstrated similar levels of distraction from phone calls and in-car conversations. I didn’t equate music to either, but it is undeniably a distraction under situations of high cognitive load.
I also never said that I was “rolling the dice” by not listening. I have never worn and will never wear headphones in the car, and I’m sensitive about my hearing (hooray for tinnitus), so I listen to music at a lower volume than most people whose listening habits I’m familiar with. What I said was that I couldn’t think of any instances where hearing made a difference between safe and unsafe. Cars are quiet (well, most cars), and cars are acoustically isolated from the environment, so by the time another vehicle is close enough for me to hear it, I better have seen it first. Motorcycles are often an exception, of course.
Sirens I thought of, but I can’t offhand think of any real instances where being able to hear the siren was a more necessary and imminent signal than the lights, so I didn’t mention them. I also thought of car horns, specifically as an irritant. They generally seem to harm more than help. They are most often used to signal irritation at something that has already happened, and whatever the case they’re meant for a single driver yet provide a distraction for just about everyone within earshot. I ignore them.
That really isn’t the case. Conversation in cars are often shown to be less distracting then phone calls. This is probably two fold. More people in the car means more people watching out, but more likely explanation is that people in the car tend to be aware (unlike people on the other end of the phone) of when the driver needs to concentrate, and so, shut up.
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/talking-driving/
Now, I haven’t looked at the research much since college, so maybe something more recent has come up to dispute the findings, but this is what I have to go by.
I will take a look at the meta analysis from 2006. I am surprised nothing more recent has come out.
Regardless, my main point was the (to me) surprising self-reflection that hearing was didn’t seem generally all that involved in my driving. I guess the state agrees, since deaf people are allowed to drive.
Deaf people also have a lot more experience in a world without sound. It’s almost like, they might be more cautious about driving or something.
Which studies have shown that they are.
I’ve almost hit/got hit by an ambulance with the music at normal levels. Can’t imagine wearing headphones.
Which makes the fact North Carolina has no headphone law kind of crazy if you think about it.
We aren’t the only ones though:
That list is missing a few states.
In the day time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an emergency vehicle before I heard it, so the idea that the sound of a siren isn’t important to driving safe is baffling to me. Not to say a deaf person couldn’t navigate the situation with aplomb, just for me it’s really important.
This aside bright to you by: I may have missed a lot of the conversation, just ignore me.
I mean just because you can hear it doesn’t make it important to your driving. How many times have you heard a siren that you never see, because it’s on a completely different street? I have also had the experience of seeing an emergency vehicle’s lights before hearing the siren, if that means anything to you.
At night I’ve often caught the lights before the siren, so I get that. But to counter your argument, there are a number of times that I’ve heard a siren for a vehicle on a cross street or behind me long before I’ve seen them and adjusted my driving so I didn’t have to slam my brakes at an intersection but was able to come to a comfortable stop instead, at least as many times as I’ve heard one with no relevance to my situation. To me, the “cost” for false alarms is well worth it for the times it’s helped me get ahead of the situation. So it’s 100% “important to my driving”. YMMV
People who enjoy Bluetooth or drive cars are insane.
I contributed.