We talk about distracted driving all the time, especially in our online class The other day as I was driving I saw someone wearing headphones (ear-buds), and not a blue tooth for hands free phone! Did you know that there are state by state laws about wearing headphones. You may be thinking why would someone do that, well sometimes the radio is broken or you might want to listen to something on your phone but don’t have the cabling to hook it up to the speakers.

Wearing ear-buds while driving is extremely dangerous. It can inhibit your hearing so that you wouldn’t be able to hear a siren! Also listening to music or even taking a hands free call is distracting while driving, In New York wearing more than 1 earphone attached to a radio, tape player, or other audio device is not permitted while driving.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the MAIN FOCUS WHILE IN THE DRIVERS SEAT SHOULD BE THE ROAD! Any calls you get really can wait. It is a driver’s responsibility to be completely aware of their surroundings, including visual and audio. If your situational awareness is impaired by headphones, it is clearly unsafe! You could be charged with an offense if the cause of an accident was someone fiddling with their headphones or MP3 player. It seriously isn’t worth it.

Keep your ears clear and your eyes on the road, and as always, DRIVE SAFE!