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Headphones in your helmet: Good idea or Bad

27K views 103 replies 80 participants last post by  Tobacco Road 
#1 ·
This is something I've though about for a while. Ive read about other people that have special helmets that allow the use of bluetooth headsets to fit in over their ears, allowing them to listen to music while riding.

Would this be considered a safe practice? :confused:
 
#2 ·
I ride with music on. I can still hear horns, sirens etc. So I have no problem with it and do it always. Also if I didn't have the headphones in I would need to wear ear plugs. My Leo vince exhaust has no baffles and is loud as hell on the freeway.
 
#3 ·
Some states ban any type of headphone, anything but navigational prompts, two ears, etc. You should investigate your state laws.

For example California bans two ears but has 0 limits on ear plugs. So you can not hear the emergency vehicles so long as your ear plugs do not make noise but add a little noise even if you are able to hear them and oh no. Insanity.

I listen to music as well. I am the type of person that can ignore what I hear so completely that I honestly would not be able to tell you what was just playing. When the need arises I just shut off my hearing and focus on other things. Headphones are safe so long as you have primary attention to your surroundings and you are not so engrossed in the music that you stop paying attention to the little things like debris in the road, other vehicles, wildlife on the side of the road, etc.
 
#4 ·
I've been debtaing the same thing.

What makes me hesitate is not the earphones themsevles, but the IPod or Music Player they are connected to. I think music would probably be fine (esp. on long-distance rides) so long as you set up your play list and didn't fool with it. But if the music system causes you to keep reaching for an IPod to change a selection - then TOSS it. Your life is worth a lot more.

dT
 
#9 ·
Yeah, some say the same thing about hands free cells too. How many riders will fiddle with radios and ipods while on the move...

I just figure if it's not there, there's no attention taken up by it. That's simply my opinion on the subject.
 
#11 ·
I used to listen to music over in the ear buds, I recently got a new helmet with the bluetooth built in. I used it once since I've gotten it, it is kinda nice cause it does allow me to hear more than just the music.

As for fiddling with the phone to change music I carry it in my pocket where I can't reach it so if I don't like the song I'm stuck with it until it's over anyway :p
 
#19 ·
Music, and especially manipulating such equipment, is in my opinion a dangerous distraction. The car stereo is as much as I want to deal with and I don't listen to music on the bike. For me, when I listen to music I sort of drift off into another world and on the bike I need full attention on the road all the time. I know better than to let myself get distracted.
 
#26 ·
I ride with skull candy ear buds on my I phone, keep the music low so I can hear what is going on around me. I think this is one of those things that each rider has to decide for themselves and what they are comfortable with, without compromising the safety of a potential passenger or yourself.
 
#89 · (Edited)
I do the same. Those skull candy ear buds are PERFECT! Cuts at least most, if not all, of the wind noise, but still allows the traffic and bike sounds around you through, and you're not blasting out the music just so you can barely hear it at all. It's like neither one is 'overpowering' the other, and BOTH can still be heard, but at a volume that's tolerable but not tiresome. For me, it makes any trip, short or long, just better. I end up feeling less 'tired' at the end of the ride, and I'm not half deaf from the wind noise, too.

With that being said, I also know that my son, who's ADD and Dyslexic, would NOT be able to handle both music and riding at the same time. It would be too distracting for him. So, for some people, it's fine to listen to music and ride, but for others, no way! It all depends on the person, then.
 
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