[ocean2026]

OK I have a Miata  ( convertible ) which allows every bit of road noise into my head.  I understand that using headphones in traffic  can be unsafe,  but I live in Texas where I sometimes have to drive from  near Corpus to El Paso  and the last 7 hrs of the drive is one of the most boring in the US.  Not too many cars. I have to blast the car stereo ( and its a good one) to drown out the road noise so  I thought  a Denon Ah-D1100 or  Audio Technica M50  would be perfect as it still lets in some street noice.
 
Go ahead lol - tell me what a bad human being I am for even considering this.

 

[maverickronin]

You should probably try IEMs.  They're just as illegal, isolate more (which doesn't matter since I as explained earlier deaf people can drive just fine), and are less obvious.  If you've got long hair, no one will ever notice.

 

[rvas18]

My car is loud due to a performance exhaust system.  Around the city I use my stereo (it is a nice component system, and the car is dynamatted).  On trips 2+ hours, I love using my IEM's.  It seems to make the time dissapear, and it is very nice to isolate my exhaust, and wind noise from my music.  IMO there isn't much you need to listen for when cruising on the interstate, and I think around the city it is a bad idea.

 

[BTFbossman]

yeah i dont understand how that would be anymore dangerous than cranking my stereo up loud..i cant hear myself talk when i turn my stereo up halfway and the 3 12" subs in my trunk dont help either

 

[maverickronin]

As far as I can tell it isn't.  Some people just don't stop to think about it.  I remain open to evidence though.

 

[lasraik]

Its very different from listening to your car stereo.  With iems you are isolating yourself and sounds around you.  When you have your car stereo going you can hear what's going on around you along with your stereo.
 
Driving with headphones is a flat out foolish and selfish thing to do.  And I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most states (or should be), and so is texting and talking on a cell phone without a hands free device.

 

[Satellite_6]

Nah, I don't have an ipod. 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Its very different from listening to your car stereo.  With iems you are isolating yourself and sounds around you.  When you have your car stereo going you can hear what's going on around you along with your stereo.
 
Driving with headphones is a flat out foolish and selfish thing to do.  And I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most states (or should be), and so is texting and talking on a cell phone without a hands free device.

 
Like I said, deaf people.
 
Also, legal arguments are stupid.  What it illegal, is not necessarily immoral.  Despite the best efforts of todays legislators, objective reality cannot be changed by majority vote...

 

[ocean2026]

OH  I like maverick's  last sentence and I'm an attorney.  People are sheep.
 
At any rate I was considering a HD -238  which allows in quite a bit of outside noice - no IEMs.
 

 

[iaudio]

maverickronin, I second your view. World over, cars are being 'improved' day by day to isolate the driver from all external noise. Wouldnt that work against the cause?
So the question is, is this all about distractions or about your hearing being impaired?
If its the latter, then how come there are no hearing tests before issuing one a license? (Atleast not in my country or the few I have been to)
 
As far as distraction goes, a car stereo, a cell phone, iems all are equal, heck even your co passenger can distract you, as someone else said on the thread, its about a sense of responsibilty, being aware, as shigzeo said about what damage the tonne of steel that is in your control can inflict on other innocent people on the road.

 

[maverickronin]

Talking with passengers is just as talking with someone on a cell phone, but no one ever seems to talk about that.  People make a huge fuss about using cell phones, but no one says a damn thing about passenger seats.  Once you've actually answered your cell phone, especially with a headset, it should be no more dangerous than talking to your passenger.

 

[wordfool]

Quote:

As far as distraction goes, a car stereo, a cell phone, iems all are equal, heck even your co passenger can distract you, as someone else said on the thread, its about a sense of responsibilty, being aware, as shigzeo said about what damage the tonne of steel that is in your control can inflict on other innocent people on the road.

I've always disagreed with this statement... distractions in a car are by no means equal, as has been shown time and again by various studies on how your brain processes things. Talking on a cellphone is far more distracting than listening to music, hands-free or not. And don't even get me started on texting while driving... every time I see someone doing that I get a strong urge to drag them out of their car and beat them!
 
Here in CA (and I believe in most other states) it is illegal to drive with headphones/earphones covering both ears, for obvious reasons. Yes, you can crank your car stereo to pounding levels and also not hear much from outside, but at the level you get the degree of isolation from your loud stereo that you would get from many earphones you'll be damaging your hearing anyway, so what's the point?!

 

[iaudio]

According to the Motor Vehicles Act in my place, cell phones are to be kept switched off when driving! I dont think anyone follows that rule. 
The law, I guess, cant leave things to your discretion, hence in many areas, blanket bans become the norm.

 

[HasanDaddy]

I know there's already a million responses, but I'll just add -
 
You should NEVER have headphones on while driving - NEVER

 

[HasanDaddy]

....and btw - I'm a Constitutionalist who believes in LIMITED GOVERNMENT and hates regulation
 
That said - it doesn't matter if the law outlaws it or not - headphones WILL restrict your driving senses - you don't need the government to stop you - your own sense of responsibility should stop it
 
Remember - highways and roads are PUBLIC places, not private domains