Hyderabad: Driving with your ears plugged can get you arrested. The Hyderabad traffic police has started booking commuters caught using earphones or headphones while driving under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Instead of simply imposing fines, the police is filing chargesheets against offenders and detaining their vehicles.
Vehicles will be released only after the offenders complete a jail term and undergo counselling.
About 192 cases have been booked so far this month, of which six offenders are put behind bars.
The traffic police have started cracking down on those who indulge in dangerous driving.
Although it is well-known that headphones can damage hearing, much less attention has been paid to the impact of headphones on performance while driving. The use of headphones generally causes a delay in the listener’s response to external events, which can prove to be dangerous.
It has also been suggested that wearing headphones while driving can cause more problems than listening to a dashboard-mounted sound system because headphones reduce acoustic cues and can divert a driver’s attention from helpful information such as the sirens of an approaching emergency services vehicle.
Police to punish people using cellphones as well
Apart from commuters caught using earphones while driving, the traffic police will also book cases against those who use their cellphones.
The traffic police said that there should also be a rule making it illegal for pedestrians to use headphones or earphones while walking on the road.
Headphones are distractions for driver. They can be a distraction to pedestrians as well.
All road users need to be able to see and hear each other properly. They reduce one’s ability to hear sounds which can result in accidents.
