Being bored?! Better than being dead!
Music is not so sweet is it now?
Is it?
I had to ask my pal who met with
a road mishap last week!
F*** man!! It wasn’t my mistake
he said. The car guy tried to overtake me from the wrong side for god sake!!
I said, you had plugged in your
headphones right??
I knew he could not argue with
that…
Although my friend escaped with
bit of luck, it made me think why are people so irresponsible??
Why is it necessary
for the system to come up with a law to state something so obvious!
Just take a look around you when
you are on road, you will be surrounded with idiots on bikes with headphones
on!
And yes.., they are well educated!
I agree there is a rule about
not using mobile phones while driving, but my question is.
1. Is the driver less
prone to accidents if he does the same thing over headphones?
· 2. Full volume music
from the headset; is it not taking away his concentration?
· 3. If he is not able to
hear to horns, sirens. Doesn’t it make his bike a death machine?
Is there any law about it? In India?
Abroad?
When I asked Google about it, I
was pleased to know that there are some countries which consider this issue
seriously.
Not all the states but
Massachusetts and Rhode Island in US forbid wearing headphones of any kind
while operating a motor vehicle and a hefty $85 for first time offence.
New York and California authorize the use of
headphones while driving provided they are used in one ear only.
Some parts of Canada forbid
headphones and what I understand from some discussion thread is that France has
similar kind of rule. Surprisingly I did not find anything about it in
Britain!!
I read in a forum that if you
are met with an accident and your are found to be wearing headphones, your
insurance stands null or void.
I am sure you too are probing to
know, though unlikely does India have any rule about usage of earphones?
I was very upset to know that there
wasn’t even a single discussion thread about it, let alone the rule book.
Nevertheless what I gathered from the discussion with few friends is that,
there might not be rule as such.
I wonder when talking on phone
or texting while driving can be an offence why not this? Just because someone
is not dead because of headphones, does it make it ignorable?
I would suggest all my dear ones
to give it a thought. And may be educate people about it.
Ø
Please do not use
headphones while riding bikes.
Ø
If you cannot avoid
it, at least use one ear.
Ø
Spread the message.
Ø
Drive safe!
- Supreeth
P.S: When I gave this piece of
writing to my friend to review. He right away said. Does it mean deaf people
are not eligible for a driving license?
Hmm.., I will have to think!
