[Amalraaj]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

The two wheeler with earphone is as equally distracted as a fourwheeler playing an audio.

Well said xingamazon.I have experienced this myself when i had just installed my ICE.Imagine me being a musician too.Nowadays i just use my ICE maybe 50% of the time i drive.During peak traffic i generally i shut it down.But i also have to add that now i got accustomed to keeping the music just at the background and concentrate on the road.If this is the case then its fine.The problem is when you actually start noticing the finer details of the soundtrack and there goes your concentration.The point is not to let it become a distraction.

[Amalraaj]

At the risk of sounding like a college lecturer i would like to add something but a very important stuff here.

Listening to music while riding/walking on the road has other negatives too as in the wind+traffic noise is so much that pedestrians and riders must crank up the volume on their headsets to very high levels to drown the ambiance as their ears are exposed completely to the outside world unlike inside a car.

Riders must additionally factor in the noise of the wind rushing past their ears as they pick up speed.Technically such volume levels are what termed as the threshold of pain which combined with the external noise can reach upto 130dBspl(a lot,lot high for the uninitiated).Its the equivalent of listening to a jet engine in very close quarters for a sustained period of time.This will greatly reduce the ear's listening response(i.e.,partial deafness at a very early age) and develop ear fatigue in a short period of time.

Lack of concentration/lack of awareness to things happening around us are exactly because of the above mentioned reasons.Although our ears have the ability to recover from these temporary damages,over a period of time(not too long considering today's noise pollution) this has a permanent effect on our ears.So pedestrians/riders please,please avoid listening to loud music on the move.You will need you ears to listen to many wonderful sounds/music for a long period of your life.

Though there are noise cancellation ear plugs available in the market they are mostly designed to reduce consistent drone like sounds like the noise inside an airplane passenger cabin(they are pretty loud you know)while cruising.They don't work on a inconsistent noise patterns like road traffic noise.Even then such good earplugs start 12k plus unlike the normal type that you get along with your i Pods /mobile/mp3 players.I very much doubt if anyone use a 'real' noise cancellation earplugs.

IMHO,4 wheeler cabins nowadays come with appreciable sound insulation so the interiors of a car is quite ok to listen to music.However not very loud with bass booming from the sub woofers knocking everyone out on the path and getting distracted in the process too.Using cellphones/loud levels of music IMHO has lot of disadvantages in our already chaotic traffic conditions

[prince_pervez]

Mobile phones with an ear phone/plug extension to only one ear can be bearable. For a 4 wheeler and a 2 wheeler. Both ears should not be engaged. Now-a-days bluetooth is available to hook up the calls to the car speaker. Pedestrians and 2 wheelers with earphones are endangering their own lives. Besides the driving and road usage habits of the common Indian require attentiveness in larger proportions. Using such devices causes distraction.

[MX6]

I'm against anyone having earphones while on the road. Anything that's intra auricular does cut down ambient noises. I'd rather have them go with bluetooth head sets that's external to the ear or speaker phones. Sadly the law is that no conversation on the mobile while driving/ riding irrespective of whether you hold the mobile, have earphones, blue tooth, wired/ wireless anything. So there's no commenting on this topic at all as talking on phone is banned in Maharashtra while driving/ riding.
But for two wheelers, I'd say, let those morons have their earphones. It's better than them sticking the mobile between their shoulder and their ear while trying gimmicks on their bike.

[Murugan]

Originally Posted by carboy

Why only 2 wheeler drivers? Why not 4-wheeler also?

I have not seen car (4 wheeler) drivers wearing them on both ears. Has anybody? If they (for that matter even 6, 8 or whatever wheeler drivers) do that, they should also be educated and if necessary penalized.

Originally Posted by devansn

(quoted in part)
I guess avoiding mobile / headphone usage while driving rather should be an ethical decision.

In an ideal world, yes. I am suggesting a ban on earphones and headphones usage for their own safety and for the safety of other road users. Use of mobile phones while driving is already banned I thought. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Murugan]

While watching director Shankar's latest Tamil movie 'Nanban' (remake of the Hindi movie '3 idiots') recently we saw a public service message short film during the intermission showing a 2 wheeler rider without a helmet listening to the song 'Endrendrum Punnagai' from another Tamil movie 'Alaipayuthe' on his headphones and getting involved in a fatal accident and losing his life.

Such initiatives to educate the public on safe driving are strongly appreciated.

While watching that song in the movie 'Alaipayuthe' for the first time I thought director Mani Ratnam was going to show Madhavan having an accident in this his first movie. Will leave it to you to find out what actually happened in the movie - enjoy the suspense like I did! It is no doubt a great song but I always used to be worried that many 2 wheeler riders would try to imitate actor Madhavan in this song by driving a 2 wheeler and listening to a song on head phones, thereby distracting their attention from the road/ traffic.

Here is that song video (showing Madhavan riding a 2 wheeler while listening to the song on headphones) to understand what road users may be mis-guided to do. The song/ video is interposed with the title credits in the movie and hence the driving sequence will not be continuous. People who do not understand Tamil can see the lyrics in English in the video.

Endrendrum Punnagai (HQ) - Alaipayuthe (2000) - YouTube

[wildsdi5530]

I think that someone talking on their mobile, whether with earphones or with their neck twisted or in their helmets is their personal decision. It's their life. What I hate is when this person hits you or comes under your wheel, you are accused of riding rashly and negligently.
I routinely answer calls on my phone while driving. But i'm on for the least possible time. This is only so that after travelling 20 kms back home, I don't have to go back to work as I did not answer the call.
The real danger is of people having conversations on the phone while driving. This is more common (IMHO) in cab drivers and others whose profession keeps them on the road for most of their day. To be fair, if you stop by the side of the road to talk to your GF for an hour when you're supposed to pick up someone at the airport, you would lose your job. And if you offend your GF, you lose her. So I say let them live their life and lets not crib about it.
Only if you're on a phone and are involved in a traffic hazard, apologise to everyone, sell your mobile phone and donate it for the other person's repairs.

[callvvijay]

I feel that a earphone (plugged to both the ears) is more dangerous than a bluetooth. All the external sound/noise from the outside world is completely shut when you plug in the earplugs on both your ears.
I see many a pedestrians walking in the middle of the road/crossing a road unaware of the oncoming traffic just because of these stupid earphones.

[Murugan]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

I think that someone talking on their mobile, whether with earphones or with their neck twisted or in their helmets is their personal decision. It's their life. What I hate is when this person hits you or comes under your wheel, you are accused of riding rashly and negligently.
I routinely answer calls on my phone while driving. But i'm on for the least possible time. This is only so that after travelling 20 kms back home, I don't have to go back to work as I did not answer the call.
The real danger is of people having conversations on the phone while driving. This is more common (IMHO) in cab drivers and others whose profession keeps them on the road for most of their day. To be fair, if you stop by the side of the road to talk to your GF for an hour when you're supposed to pick up someone at the airport, you would lose your job. And if you offend your GF, you lose her. So I say let them live their life and lets not crib about it.
Only if you're on a phone and are involved in a traffic hazard, apologise to everyone, sell your mobile phone and donate it for the other person's repairs.

Sorry, I do not think I could agree on that.

The public roads where people walk or drive is public property and not their personal one; and accidents could happen to them AND others because of such actions. Why should others suffer by losing their limb or life, or even a lesser injury, because of accidents that occur due to the distraction/ lack of attention of road users who use headphones/ earphones/ mobile phones? If it is urgent, they could always stop and talk as I have seen many road users do. I am also sure that any caring GF will understand the risks of talking on the mobile phone while driving and accept to continue the conversation later if explained; and if she does not understand/ care for her BF's life then it is up to the BF to decide on the relationship.

I am not talking here about people who lose their limb or life while crossing the railway track and get knocked by a speeding train because they were distracted in a mobile phone conversation/ by earphone, headphone etc even though I feel very sorry for them and their family. Here it is usually only their life and other train users may not suffer much except the time delay that occurs because the involved train has to stop because of the accident.

This category of people and road users also needs to be educated about the perils of outside noise and warning sounds being blocked out by earphones, headphones and mobile phones.

I agree that all this is my personal opinion and others are entitled to theirs just as I am entitled to mine. Having said that, do consider your safety and the safety of other road users.

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

...Only if you're on a phone and are involved in a traffic hazard, apologise to everyone, sell your mobile phone and donate it for the other person's repairs.

I do not think "if you're on a phone and are involved in a traffic hazard, apologise to everyone, sell your mobile phone and donate it for the other person's repairs" is just, fair or even enough.

[greenhorn]

my take is that any sort of noise isolating/reducing/cancelling earphones should be totally banned. rest, I wouldnt be too sure

[wildsdi5530]

@murugan, I was being sarcastic.
I am totally against cell phone usage by people in public places. Roads, Movie theatres, parks, etc.

[RIC.BURNS]

Even US has a increase rate of accidents due to ipod life, Study: More headphone-wearing walkers hit by cars.
Noise isolate/cancelling in-ear headsets could be highly dangerous on the road, they give you almost null outside noise. Unlike headphones, people with cellphones do multitasking and pay attention to the call instead of the road. I haven't seen many wandering around with headphones but with cell phones, they cross the road as if its empty. They should be heavily fined or given some sort of punishment.

[highway_star]

AFAIK talking on the phone while driving any vehicle is completely banned, irrespective of using hands free or not.

I think that banning talk on hands free doesn't make sense. It is legal to listen to music, fiddle with the music controls, and have a conversation with someone in the rear seat while driving. Talking on phone is not much more distracting than this.

A two wheeler rider with headphones is not any more distracted than a car driver listening to speakers. Neither is walking on the roads with music more dangerous than driving on the roads with music.

I would not support any ban on headphones for pedestrians or bikers unless music in cars is banned too. And I would not support a ban on music in cars anyway. Music might actually increase alertness for some people by preventing boredom and sleepiness on long drives.

[root]

Despite the fact that I may be considered old fashioned, just what did people do before mobile phones? Speak on a land-line when they had to!!! While India must be the country with the lowest ARPU (Average Revenue per User) for telecom operators due to great pricing, it must rank very high on the Average Time spent per day on the phone. And for people who spend a good 4-5 hours on the mobile every day, how much of those 4-5 hours were absolutely essential, and how much was something you would not mind if you did not have the conversation. Cutting to the chase, most such conversations while enroute on the road could possibly be done on reaching destinations? It might be worthwhile to do a public interest survey in this regard.

[speedsatya]

I dont hesitate to get down from the car and give these idiots a piece of my mind ! I have seen 2 gals getting killed while trying to cross the road with headphones on .

We read about so many similar idiots getting run over by trains when trying to cross tracks with headpphones on their ears !

I am very curious to know the reasoning of all these great people who have replied a NO to the poll .