Q: Another traffic question - headphones

[gunn]

I commute from SF to SJC everyday so you see all kinds of bad driving habits.
I just wanted to check to see if a) this is illegal (I believe it probably is) and b) have you guys, as LEO, ever pulled someone over for this infraction?

Q: At least twice a day I'll pass someone driving up/down Hwy 280 with headphones on while driving. Doesn't this interfere with their ability to hear road hazards (like horns) and if it is illegal, have you every pulled someone over for this action?

I know the Iphones come with a combo microphone + headphones cable so perhaps a bunch of people are just being law abiding citizens with hands free kits. However, I do notice that a significant number of folks have both headphones in.

Q: Why does it worry me? If someone tries to merge into my lane without looking, I hit my horn to say "hey idiot, I'm here already". Since i drive >20K mi every year, I encounter a situation like this every few months. If they can't hear my horn, things could get uglier...

-g

[IrishJoe3]

Yes its illegal (if both ear buds are in), yes I've stopped people for it, don't know if I've actually cited for it.

[jmatt511]

One of the tickets I always wrote. With both ears covered and at the sound level most people employ, it creates a danger for everyone from the fire department, paramedics and ambulances to police rolling code. Sirens are hard enough to hear from a distance or crossing pattern. Earphones bring down perception even more. And a car horn is even softer. Why remove one of your senses when you're rolling several thousand pounds of lethality.

[tyrist]

It is illegal and I have written people for it.

[gunn]

Good to hear. This annoys me both on the ski slopes and the streets. Given the speeds we drive on the hwys in CA and the momentum involved in the vehicles, this behavior is MUCH more dangerous on the streets.
-g

[BigDogatPlay]

This is one I invariably wrote. And it's a violation on a bicycle too. Good PC for a bike stop if nothing else.

So riddle me this.... I see a lot of Iphones using a two earbud set up, the mic for the phone is on one side of the pair. With both earbuds in, phone or not, I believe it's a violation.

Anyone written that?

[jmatt511]

This is one I invariably wrote. And it's a violation on a bicycle too. Good PC for a bike stop if nothing else.

So riddle me this.... I see a lot of Iphones using a two earbud set up, the mic for the phone is on one side of the pair. With both earbuds in, phone or not, I believe it's a violation.

Anyone written that?

Give the man his cigar. Both ears must be covered to issue the cite. If only one ear bud is in, I didn't write it.

[lorax3]

Since it has not been posted yet, here is the relevant section.

CVC 27400. No person operating any motor vehicle or bicycle shall wear
any headset covering, or any earplugs in, both ears. The prohibition
of this section does not apply to any of the following:
(a) Persons operating authorized emergency vehicles, as defined in
Section 165.
(b) Any person engaged in the operation of either special
construction equipment or equipment for use in the maintenance of any
highway.
(c) Any person engaged in the operation of refuse collection
equipment who is wearing a safety headset or safety earplugs.
(d) Any person wearing personal hearing protectors in the form of
custom earplugs or molds that are designed to attenuate injurious
noise levels. The custom plugs or molds shall be designed in a
manner so as to not inhibit the wearer's ability to hear a siren or
horn from an emergency vehicle or a horn from another motor vehicle.

(e) Any person using a prosthetic device which aids the hard of
hearing.

[nobody33]

That law never made sense to me since deaf people can get driver's licenses. I generally don't enforce it.

[desmark6]

Used it as PC a few times, scratched a cite once to prove a point......one of those "your an idiot officer and I'll have your job since you dont know the law" situations.

Never went to court on it, guess he figured it out

[BigDogatPlay]

Give the man his cigar. Both ears must be covered to issue the cite. If only one ear bud is in, I didn't write it.

Thanks... Cuban would be good, but I'll settle for a Dominican if you have one.

[groats]

That law never made sense to me since deaf people can get driver's licenses. I generally don't enforce it.

Perhaps you overlook the likelyhood that deaf people have learned to compensate for their deafness by improving other driving skills - such as looking in the mirrors for fire engines, etc.

I suspect they're paying more attention than the guy listening to music.

[chiefnpd]

chiefnpd

I'm sorry, did you say deaf people cannot get a drivers license? I'm sure they can. I have a friend who is deaf and he has a license. I think I better reserch that one.
Sorry My Mistake I read it wrong. Can blind people get a license. LOL

[Zomgie]

IANALEO, but my understanding is that people with non-correctable physical impairments (deaf, one eye, etc.) that still get licensed have a much harder time going about it, are held to a higher standard and are required to renew much more often.

[alex00]

I'm sorry, did you say deaf people cannot get a drivers license? I'm sure they can. I have a friend who is deaf and he has a license. I think I better reserch that one.
Sorry My Mistake I read it wrong. Can blind people get a license. LOL

Only in 34 states.