Article on wear headphones while driving

Though it is not federally regulated, in most states, it is illegal to wear headphones while driving, and with good reason. It is as unsafe as leaving your music loud enough to overshadow emergency vehicle sirens and other warning sounds, leaving you unable to use something you need for safe driving: your hearing. In our traffic school course, you will learn how important your hearing and other senses are to safe driving.

In California, you are not permitted to have headphones covering or inserted into both ears, but you may have them in one ear. The idea behind this is that you are permitted hands-free devices for cellular phones, which generally utilize one ear, but not headphones for the purposes of listening to loud music.

Exceptions in the law are provided for those operating authorized emergency vehicles, construction equipment, refuse collection, and those using prosthetic hearing devices.