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| "Ba-ba-ba-ba-baby! Don't forget my number!" |
I hate bad drivers. You've seen previous posts I've done like "Car Wars" or "Why Isn't This Lady Allowing Me to Merge?" If I could rewrite laws, I'd have bad drivers doing jail time. The latest trend that bugs me when I'm on the road are people who drive with earphones in their ears.
I asked some of my Twitter followers about why so many people are driving with earphones in their ears. Only one of them said for hands-free calling. Just one! Everyone else said they do so to listen to Pandora and iHeartRadio. So, I figured that it's up to me to make a QSA (Q Service Announcement) to explain to everyone why that could be a bad idea:
The reason it's illegal in most (if not all) states to drive with earbuds plugged into your dome is because it's a safety hazard. You can ask the lady who almost ran me over because she couldn't hear me blow my horn when she pulled into my lane. Or you can even ask this guy "doing the dougie" at the stop light and not realizing until the very last second that a fire truck was trying to get by him. If you can't hear, then it makes it that much more difficult to drive. A lot of people can't drive when they can hear, so they definitely don't need anything else negating their abilities.
There are so many ways to hook up a cell phone or MP3 player to your car stereo, so there's no excuse for earbuds in both ears. If you only use one, then that's cool, but to have both ears plugged is just unsafe.
And how people jog or ride bikes on busy streets with both earbuds in amazes me. The level of trust that they have is unbelievable! There's no way I'm going to have both earbuds in and allow some teen who's texting to run me down like a victim in "Christine." I don't trust my general public that much. I need to be able to hear brakes screeching so I'll at least have a chance to jump into a ditch.
I have a fancy car that lets me talk through my speakers...so I look insane whilst driving but at least I'm safe. I have seen the earbuds as well and I concur that it is incredibly unsafe!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have a Bluetooth radio as well, so I never have to take my phone out of my pocket for calls or music. Prior to that, I had a portable Bluetooth adapter which allowed me to transmit over FM. Then there's the AUX cable, iPod ports and Bluetooth headsets. No need for wires at all to be honest with you.
DeleteNo, that's not safe. I'm with you I don't feel comfortable not being able to hear. I mean what about people running up behind you. How would you hear that?
ReplyDeleteExactly. That could be how so many people get robbed/raped while jogging. I pass a guy every day when going to work and he has his earbuds in while jogging a trail through the Natchez Trace Woods.
DeleteI never understood this, either. I would compare listening to music with earphones while driving to driving with only 80% of your vision.
ReplyDeleteOr something.
Pretty funny, because I have a 3-part post next week about bad drivers.
Can't wait to check it out, YB. Interesting analogy. Some people drive as if they only have 80% of their vision. LOL! In fact, I once knew of a guy who wore sunglasses because he thought they made him look cool. He later admitted that he had to stop wearing them because they detracted from his vision.
DeleteI am seriously in therapy due to the careless driving of others.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's something I should consider before I ram my Buick into someone a la (insert video game here).
DeleteMy fave headphones when walking have a volume control which I use (turn down)before crossing roads.
ReplyDeleteAs for driving with earbuds, no way. I cant even drive with the music too loud on my stereo in busy traffic
Mynx, I once rode with my cousin about a decade ago and he has competition speakers in his car. I thought I was having a heart attack because the bass was so loud. How he rode like that regularly is beyond me.
DeleteI have an iTrip that lets me tune the radio into my iPhone...but you are right it is a safety hazard and should be stopped.
ReplyDeleteiTrip? Not familiar with it, but it sounds cool.
DeleteQ. This is the reason I don't carry a handgun. For some reason I feel responsible to offer suggestions to these assholes as to ways to improve their bad behaviors. With the worst actions I'll not only yell at them as we drive, I'll follow them--at a safe distance--to their first stop, wherein I'll explain with specificity their bad act(acts).
ReplyDeleteI've been known to flick a nose or two during said moments, and would have shot a few had a gun been available.
Mooner, I get it. I think because some people respond to heat-of-the-moment incidents is why it's illegal to have hand guns in the vehicles without proper licensing. I honestly believe that there would be a lot more shootouts on the freeways if that were not the case.
DeleteOur safety is the most important thing in the world...a phone call can wait if I don't have a system in my car that allows me to speak without being disturbed....After I was first accused of careless driving Toronto I pulled over every time I wanted to sent a text message or when someone was calling me.....that until I bought a system in my car to connect the phone and talk trough my speakers...now I'm 100% safe from this point of view off course:))
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Julia! And being someone who has driven in Toronto traffic as recently as last June, a person definitely needs to keep their focus on the road. LOL! It's a packed highway system up there! :)
DeleteThanks for commenting. I'll have to check out your link.