Headphones can put road users at risk, Vorarlberg initiative warns

Wearing headphones in traffic can prevent people from hearing warning signals and increase the risk of accidents, the road safety initiative Sicheres Vorarlberg says, according to ORF.

Car horns, bicycle bells, train whistles and truck reversing alarms can be missed or heard too late. That can delay reactions, said Mario Amann of the initiative. People who cannot hear their surroundings may react unpredictably, for example by suddenly crossing a road.

Headphones are widely used by pedestrians and cyclists, whom the Austrian motoring organisation ÖAMTC describes as the most vulnerable road users. The consequences of serious crashes can be particularly severe for them because they cannot rely on crumple zones or airbags.

Austria has no explicit general ban on wearing headphones in traffic. However, road traffic rules require people to ensure their hearing and ability to perceive sounds are not impaired.

Sicheres Vorarlberg advises keeping music quiet enough to hear warnings, using only one in-ear headphone to leave the other ear free, and turning on transparency mode and off noise cancellation when using over-ear headphones. It also recommends avoiding distractions from choosing songs or adjusting volume.

Distraction causes about 39 percent of injury crashes in Vorarlberg, according to the Road Safety Board. On average, about 870 people are injured and four are killed each year in crashes involving inattention or distraction. The annual average includes about 87 pedestrians injured and 383 people injured while using bicycles or e-scooters.