# Driving while on earbuds: Do one-ear-only laws really accomplish anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107 "2015-06-09T21:52:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/1 "2015-06-09T21:52:35Z")
(Beyond providing an extra bit of revenue for cash-strapped municipalities, that is. And before anyone asks, no–I have not been cited for violating this law. I don’t like it but I’m not foolish to flout it.) In California it’s unlawful to drive a car with any kind of headset over or in both ears, so if you want to use your ear buds, you have to leave one side hanging out behind your shoulder or down your shirt or whatever. I get that the goal is to discourage distracted driving, and agree that it’s worthwhile as such. But I’m far from convinced that one-ear-only laws with regard to earbuds really further that objective. In-ear headsets do not prevent the wearer from hearing ambient sounds, and it’s been my experience that it’s about the same as having the car stereo on. In both situations, listening at extremely loud volume levels will block most or all other sounds in the environment, in addition to damaging the user’s hearing, but otherwise do not prevent you from hearing what’s happening around you. So it doesn’t make sense that we still allow motorists to play the car stereo, but not wear both earbuds. Moreover, for situations where you have to use at least one earbud, for example using GPS navigation, I think the one-ear-only law increases rather than reduces the distraction. An earbud headset is designed to be worn in both ears, and when you wear it on one side only, you typically have to turn the volume up higher than you would if you could use both ears. This not only increases the level of distraction on that side, but also might lead to potential damage in that ear. Additionally, there’s the matter of the unused side tending to drag the other side out of your ear, which in itself is distracting. Did the writers of the law just assume that earbuds were no different from full-sized over-the-ear headphones? Should there or could there be any viable opposition to the law, or is it about as entrenched as the drinking age of twenty-one in all fifty states? ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/2 "2015-06-10T02:37:04Z")
The law isn’t (at last in Colorado) about distracted driving. While you have your earbuds in (or headphones on) you are less likely to be able to hear emergency vehicles; especially if you have your music up very loud. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/3 "2015-06-10T14:38:19Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > ( In-ear headsets do not prevent the wearer from hearing ambient sounds, and it’s been my experience that it’s about the same as having the car stereo on. I would argue that the level of sound that you listen to music through your ear-buds is not representative of the average. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/4 "2015-06-10T14:44:54Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > The law isn’t (at last in Colorado) about distracted driving. While you have your earbuds in (or headphones on) you are less likely to be able to hear emergency vehicles; especially if you have your music up very loud. > > Bob And when deaf people are prohibited from driving because they can’t hear the emergency vehicles, that’s an argument I’d be willing to accept. Since that’s not the case, I find it outrageous that that’s considered justification for enacting stupid laws about earbuds. As I understand it, as long as you’re not fiddling with your phone, there’s basically no amount of music/talking on the phone/etc. that is significantly more distracting than having passengers to converse with, and in many cases the phone/music is less distracting than a passenger, since the driver is less likely to try to look away in order to see the face of the person they’re talking to. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/5 "2015-06-10T15:21:50Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > And when deaf people are prohibited from driving because they can’t hear the emergency vehicles, that’s an argument I’d be willing to accept. Since that’s not the case, I find it outrageous that that’s considered justification for enacting stupid laws about earbuds. > > As I understand it, as long as you’re not fiddling with your phone, there’s basically no amount of music/talking on the phone/etc. that is significantly more distracting than having passengers to converse with, and in many cases the phone/music is less distracting than a passenger, since the driver is less likely to try to look away in order to see the face of the person they’re talking to. I think it’s pretty rare while driving to need to look at the face of the person in the car. I certainly don’t. The big difference between talking on a phone and talking to a person in the car is that someone in the car has a certain amount of situational awareness about what the driver is doing and will stop (or should stop) talking when the driver needs to concentrate on something like a busy parking lot or difficult turn to make. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/6 "2015-06-10T15:36:26Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > And when deaf people are prohibited from driving because they can’t hear the emergency vehicles, that’s an argument I’d be willing to accept. Since that’s not the case, I find it outrageous that that’s considered justification for enacting stupid laws about earbuds. Really? Would you bitch about a law that required you to keep both hands on the wheel because amputees only have one hand? ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/7 "2015-06-10T15:51:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Really? Would you bitch about a law that required you to keep both hands on the wheel because amputees only have one hand? Absolutely! Laws are supposed to mean something. They are not supposed to be enacted just for funsies. If there is a law that states that I must have two hands on the wheel, then it should only be enacted if it can be shown that having only one hand on the wheel is _not safe_. If having only one hand on the wheel is _not safe_, then a one handed person should not be allowed to drive. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/8 "2015-06-10T16:02:38Z")
If your car doesn’t support Bluetooth, I highly recommend using the GOgroove FlexSMART X3. I’ve been using it in my car for a couple of years and it’s great. I can also use it to make and receive hands-free calls from my iPhone. I bought it at [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/9 "2015-06-10T17:19:03Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > The law isn’t (at last in Colorado) about distracted driving. While you have your earbuds in (or headphones on) you are less likely to be able to hear emergency vehicles; especially if you have your music up very loud. Yes, I think this is correct: the point of the law is that, if you have at least one ear unobstructed, you have a better chance of hearing outside noise such as emergency vehicles. I agree it isn’t perfect, since a well-insulated car and/or a loud car radio may prevent you from hearing outside noise, while some earbuds playing some sounds at relatively low volume may not. > [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > And when deaf people are prohibited from driving because they can’t hear the emergency vehicles, that’s an argument I’d be willing to accept. Since that’s not the case, I find it outrageous that that’s considered justification for enacting stupid laws about earbuds. Possible counterarguments to this are that deaf people are more used to paying attention to visual cues to warn them, or that it really is a problem that deaf people can’t hear emergency vehicles, but not enough of a problem to forbid them from driving altogether, which is the only thing you could do in their case. > [@](#): > > As I understand it, as long as you’re not fiddling with your phone, there’s basically no amount of music/talking on the phone/etc. that is significantly more distracting than having passengers to converse with, and in many cases the phone/music is less distracting than a passenger, since the driver is less likely to try to look away in order to see the face of the person they’re talking to. You understand incorrectly. Studies have shown that talking on the phone, even if it’s hands-free, is a significant distraction. [Some (though not all) of these studies, find that it’s significantly more distracting than conversing with passengers in the vehicle.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety#Comparisons_with_passenger_conversations) Suggested reasons for this include - (as **enipla** mentioned) “passengers are able to better regulate conversation based on the perceived level of danger” - “planning to speak and speaking put far more demands on the brain’s resources than listening,” and “the number of utterances was usually higher for mobile calls when compared to blindfolded and non-blindfolded passengers across various driving conditions” - “when conversing with a passenger … the traffic and driving task become part of the conversation” [Studies have also found](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/talking-on-a-cellphone-while-driving-is-risky-but-simpler-distractions-can-also-cause-harm/2014/02/07/49675ce8-8cf2-11e3-95dd-36ff657a4dae_story.html) that having a cell phone conversation is significantly more distracting than listening to an audiobook or to the radio (which may be partly due to the fact, noted above, that speaking or preparing to speak are more distracting than listening). ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/10 "2015-06-10T19:09:47Z")
Is this some kind of Vincent Van Gogh law? Doesn’t it discriminate against people who wear glasses? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/11 "2015-06-10T23:07:34Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > The law isn’t (at last in Colorado) about distracted driving. While you have your earbuds in (or headphones on) you are less likely to be able to hear emergency vehicles; especially if you have your music up very loud. > > Bob Without having yet read subsequent replies, my point in this respect is that the effect of using earbuds in both ears is essentially the same as using the car stereo, so if the car stereo is allowed, then the earbuds should be, too. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/12 "2015-06-10T23:13:51Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Without having yet read subsequent replies, my point in this respect is that the effect of using earbuds in both ears is essentially the same as using the car stereo We understood that this was your point; we just disagree with it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-while-on-earbuds-do-one-ear-only-laws-really-accomplish-anything/722107/13 "2015-06-10T23:22:01Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I would argue that the level of sound that you listen to music through your ear-buds is not representative of the average. I’m not so sure. When you listen through earbuds, there’s a limit to how high you can crank up the music without degrading the sound quality; they’re really not designed for faithful reproduction at bar, club, or concert volume levels. Given the typical noise levels of city streets, caused by such things as the normal collective roar of acceleration when the light turns green, motorcycles, or young dudes with giant trucks, muffler problems, and compensation issues–or a combination of the three–I can’t really turn my music high enough to obliterate outside sounds, unless I want to hurt my ears. For that reason, I favor mainly spoken word content like podcasts, audiobooks, and NPR.