Bmach

§ 3314. Prohibiting use of hearing impairment devices.
(a) General rule.--No driver shall operate a vehicle while wearing or using one or more headphones or earphones.
(b) Exception.--This section does not prohibit the use of hearing aids or other devices for improving the hearing of the driver, nor does it prohibit the use of a headset in conjunction with a cellular telephone that only provides sound through one ear and allows surrounding sounds to be heard with the other ear, nor does it prohibit the use of communication equipment by the driver of an emergency vehicle or by motorcycle operators complying with section 3525 (relating

Bizman

Thanks for the quote from the vehicle code, I have saw this before! I have wrote 2 responses to this and the site keeps wanting to reload losing everything. A call to the police dept today said that listing to music on a cell phone is not allowed but it could be hard to prove what you were listening to so he would probably not bother. I had more to a add but I have spent to much time trying. Good luck if you do listen to music on a cell phone!

Bizman

A call to the local police dept (in PA) said that helmet speakers would be ok as you could still hear other noise, emergency services, etc. I really don't see the difference but that's what he said? I am sure a different police dept may have another take on it. He did say the use of ear plugs WAS NOT allowed. I used the reference of a deaf person and he said that is a condition that they can't control, putting ear plugs in your ears IS something you can control.

ririder

I have a handlebar mount for my phone so I can listen to music using the phone's speakers and see my Strava app while I'm riding.

Flip Flop Rider

rather than being punished by the police, the penalty for not hearing traffic is getting run over and killed or injured. Kind of a Darwin thing

it's probably illegal to drive a car into a bridge abutment or into oncoming traffic, but the police penalty is the minor consequence

I see drivers of cars with earbuds in all the time, and assume the police see them too

Fortunately this is a debate that will continue to resurface forever. It's the gift that keeps on giving

hastyrails

I use those ones who are around your head, that is not falling off. I don't know how they are called. some sports earplugs or something like that.

Senrab62 

I use them all the time while cycling. Sometimes one in out, one in and sometimes both in. I am extra cautious and they never impair my ability to be aware of my surrounding to the point where I am a danger to others. It also depends on surroundings and leverl of traffic/roadway type.

Safe and happy cycling everyone!

7up

Riding on fire roads I’d possibly do it.In traffic on city streets are a no no for me.

AlexGreenwald

I think it is not that advisable to wear headphones when biking because you can't hear or it's difficult to hear the vehicles that are passing including its beeps. You can still use it but on one ear only to still hear the people and vehicles around.

Troul 

Poor deaf people, they must be constantly facing legal repercussions from not abiding by the law in ignoring surrounding noises they're not able to hear...

rachel120

The sarcasm isn't that funny. I had an accident where someone who was deaf didn't hear my horn. It was a roundabout where the inner lane offered a choice between curving left and staying straight. Despite the lack of a turn signal he assumed I was going left when I was actually going straight, and when I saw him in my mirror coming fast I held the horn down, which did absolutely no good.

elcruxio

I hear traffic fine with headphones and music even when I have my winter helmet on. I wear earplugs in the summer season to ease wind noise and I hear traffic fine even then.

johnje

Even with my earbuds in, and (metal) turned up pretty darn high, and my balaclava on, I can hear cars as they pass. I can't hear them from far away, but then if I don't have headphones in, all I can hear is the wind, tons of regular traffic noise, and can't distinguish "car approaching" noise until they're passing.

I don't see what the heck knowing a car is approaching is going to do for me. I stay in the bike lane, any driver paying more attention to text messaging than their lane position is going to run me over, whether I can hear them or not.

The only situation where I don't wear headphones is riding through city streets. For example, downtown Seattle, and mostly that's for verbal exchanges at stoplights. (Drivers telling me to go first, asking for directions, etc..)

aplcr0331

I see people doing it all the time in real life and in Instagram/facebook social media posts.


I would never do it, because I want to hear the inattentive teenage girl texting about GoT before she plows into me and makes my children and wife sad.


Also, if you do something like this, apparently you enjoy the ride less than other people. I sleep better at night knowing that my lack of music while riding keeps me warm. Makes me better than you as well, that I enjoy my rides more.

Troul 

sarcasm was not the intent. the laws that some states/areas have is not funny when it discriminates against the impaired. courteous driving can go a long way, so much that it may save some handicapped person's life.

jitenshajin

Just consider the increase in the amount of accidents caused to pedestrians being distracted by using headphones to listen to music, especially in this age of the ubiquitous smartphone. Surely, we need all our senses working as optimally as possible, when cycling. There are an ever increasing number of cars and trucks on the road and I have heard that they can hurt you, if you are involved in an accident with them.

frogmorton

noglider 

I assume they don't hear me even though I use a loud bell. I'm ready for sudden and irrational movements.

SylvainG

I use just one (right ear) wireless earbud. No trouble hearing everything around me.

alcjphil

Sorry, I am not a very good multitasker. Before I tried riding my bike with any sort of music and ear buds, I tried walking my dog early one morning while listening to music with my Ipod. I simply hated it, if I listened to the music, I could not concentrate on the ambient sounds around me. Other people may be able to sort things out, but I can't. For me the best choice is to ride with only the music that goes through my head.

linberl

I ride with headphones...not in-ear but on ear small bluetooth ones. They pass all ambient sound to my ears, don't block it at all. But honestly, even if I didn't wear them, using a rear view helmet mirror, turning around - visual input not audio - is what keeps me alive. There are so many electric cars where I live that there is no auditory warning of approaching cars anyway. My mirror is my "Prius detector". I ride in traffic and it's not an issue. The only time anyone has ever honked at me was when they were behind me and I was taking the lane and they were being ******** and I was already acutely aware of them. Sometimes I might drop the volume a bit, to be able to talk to drivers, but the headphones have a volume limiter so they don't get super loud, anyway. In those instances where I have forgotten them, I find I "space out" more on the ride and am actually less aware of my surroundings; with music on, I remain tuned in and alert. No, I wouldn't ride with in-ear buds as they do block sound (but again I can't hear those electric cars anyway).

avole

Hit the nail on the head. If you think you need, or indeed use, headphones, the danger is one thing, but the denial of the world in which we live is sadness itself.

ggoytia1

My choice. Bluetooth motorola buds for bike, gym and motorcycle.
Get em refurb'd and clean it with a good disinfectant.

I-Like-To-Bike

Yes it is, and IMO an emotional preference for listening to street and traffic noise over the spoken word (as in audio books or pod casts) or music is a truly sad example of such denial.

clengman

I use cheap knock off Bluetooth earbuds with ear hooks. I don't listen to music much. Mostly podcasts. I've never felt like they impair my ability to hear cars coming from behind, but like others have said, I take my position in my lane and if someone isn't paying attention and hits me, hearing them first isn't going to help me much. I always do a shoulder check anyway, if I need to move out from the curb to avoid a hazard or to make a left turn.