Is it legal to drive with headphones?

Using headphones to stay connected in this digital world, or conversely, tune-out from the chaos of reality, is a common practice for most of us these days.?

Whether that’s at home, at work, or anywhere in between, modern headphones and wireless earbuds provide a convenient connection with our mobile devices to make and take hands-free phone calls and listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks without impeding, for the most part, what we do or disturbing those around us.

But what about in the car? Is it legal to wear headphones while driving in Australia?

Technically, yes. There are no specific state or federal road laws that prevent drivers from wearing headphones or earbuds while using a motor vehicle.

However, it is widely discouraged by experts and driver trainers as being unsafe, particularly modern headphones with noise cancelling technology which virtually cancel out exterior noises. If you cannot hear the environment around you, you may not be able to react to emergency situations effectively.

That could be another motorist honking their horn, a pedestrian or cyclist alerting you to their presence or, in a worst-case scenario, hearing the screeching tyres of another vehicle coming towards you that you could avoid. It could, quite literally, be the difference between a near miss and a serious accident.

In the latter, most states will consider the use of headphones as a contributing factor in the cause of an accident. Every state in Australia requires that drivers must always be in proper control of the vehicle and prosecutors could use the fact that wearing headphones may have been a distraction and could have reduced the driver’s ability to hear their surroundings properly, thereby lacking full control of the vehicle.

Needless to say, it’s a bit murky, and police could use the greyness in interpreting the rule of ‘control’ for a potential fine, or worse by prosecutors in the event of a fatal accident.

The fact that headphones are generally connected to your mobile phone also makes them more problematic. It is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving unless it is secured in a cradle or mount that is attached to the vehicle - so, don’t even think about changing the volume, choosing another track, or making or taking a call otherwise.

Some headphones, however, do have basic functions available as touch-sensitive commands on the earpieces themselves, which is okay to use.

For learner drivers and P-Platers, most states do not allow young drivers to have a mobile phone activated in the car and therefore it is considered illegal to use headphones while driving.

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