Many people like to drive their cars with their favorite songs playing in the car stereo systems. This is completely legal, and nobody doubts it. No matter whether you approve of it or are annoyed by loud music from cars — it’s not going to be forbidden.

But some people prefer to listen to music in their headphones. And they can reasonably wonder: is it legal to do this in a car? In our short article, we’ll answer this question and explain to you whether it’s allowed or not, and why it may be unsafe.

Like many other laws in the USA, it depends on the state. Somewhere driving with headphones is completely forbidden, while in other places it’s legal.

Where is it forbidden?

First of all, we’ll provide you a full list of the states where driving with headphones is illegal.  

Here they are:

• Maryland;
• Rhode Island;
• Virginia;
• Louisiana;
• Ohio;
• Minnesota;
• Washington;
• Illinois;
• Alaska;
• California.

In the aforementioned states, if a police officer notices you driving with headphones, you can be arrested for negligence or inattentiveness on the road.

Where is it partly forbidden?

In Arizona, wearing headphones while driving is legal, but with two exceptions. Those who take kids to kindergartens or other facilities, and those who drive school buses, are forbidden to do it.

Answering a telephone call with one earbud is legal in Georgia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In New York, you’re allowed to listen to music or anything else, but with one earbud too. In Massachusetts, you can drive with headphones, but only in case you’re using them for navigation.

Where is it allowed?

In 32 states and the DC, it’s perfectly legal to drive a car with headphones.

The complete list of them includes:

• Indiana;
• Oklahoma;
• Iowa;
• Kansas;
• Delaware;
• North Dakota;
• South Dakota;
• Idaho;
• Missouri;
• Nebraska;
• Connecticut;
• New Jersey;
• Tennessee;
• Michigan;
• District of Columbia;
• Montana;
• Nevada;
• Wisconsin;
• New Hampshire;
• Kentucky;
• Maine;
• Hawaii;
• New Mexico;
• North Carolina;
• South Carolina;
• Wyoming;
• Mississippi;
• Alabama;
• Texas;
• Utah;
• Vermont;
• West Virginia;
• Arkansas.

Why is it dangerous?

Driving with headphones or earbuds is forbidden for a reason. Even in case you live in a state where it’s legal, it still can be extremely unsafe. Everyone who wears headphones when driving a car is a potential threat to both passengers and other drivers.

Since you won’t be able to hear external sounds, you’ll probably miss many important signals — for example, sirens, horns, and so on. Also, it’s highly possible that you’ll be carried away by your favorite song and start driving inattentively. And this can lead to really terrifying consequences.

15% of car crashes happen because of inattentive driving. So, we strongly recommend you to avoid using headphones or earbuds while driving a car, even if it’s legal in your state.