Many people love listening to music while they drive a car and listening to music while you are riding your motorcycle is somewhat similar. Still, some riders wonder if listening to music on their motorcycle is allowed or not, and if it is, what options do they have.
You are allowed to listen to music while riding a motorcycle, and the best option is to use a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet. Using a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet is not only legal, it is also a reliable and safe way to enjoy the motorcycle experience.
Pros and Cons to Listening to Music with Motorcycle Helmet
If you are wondering whether listening to music with your motorcycle helmet will be for you, the best way is to weigh its pros and cons. You can then decide in favor of getting yourself the best bluetooth enabled motorcycle helmet if the pros outweigh the cons.
Pros
- You tend to be more alert while you listen to the music. The beats, rhythm, and lyrics keep your brain engaged, and your body and mind feel more active and in charge.
- Studies have shown that riding a bike is a recreational outdoor activity that improves your mood and brings about a positive impact on your mental health. Adding music to this, doubles the entertainment angle and improves your mood even more. As a result, what could be a tiring experience ends up being rejuvenating instead.
- Listening to music keeps you entertained. While you may be in love with the sound and feeling of wind gushing through your body while you ride your motorcycle, the sound of the motor along with the swooshing wind can get a little monotonous and boring after a certain period, especially if you are going to ride for a longer duration. Playing music takes care of the loud motor sound and instead gives you the songs that you like.
- Not only that, for many people the constant sound of the motorcycle rumble is bearable for a couple of minutes, but after that, it becomes annoying and even leads to a headache. When you listen to music, the unpleasant sounds are all blocked and replaced by your favorite singers and bands.
Cons
- No matter how much entertaining music may sound, some melodies can get a bit distracting if you get too much involved in the music, lyrics, or the sentiments that they bring to you. The last thing you want while riding your motorcycle is to get distracted and cause danger to yourself and people around you.
- If you are listening to music using a stereo system, the volume could get too high which the people around you (other riders, drivers, and pedestrian) may find quite inappropriate or uncomfortable. Also, if you listen to music loudly, you may not be able to listen to the sounds of things going on around you while you ride your motorcycle. This can be quite dangerous for you and could even result in a serious accident.
- If you have to take one of your hands off the handlebar to play a certain song or skip one, it indirectly means you are one second less careful or inattentive on the road. Accidents can happen by the blink of an eye, so you need to make sure that you are completely alert when you are riding your motorcycle. Think about your loved ones and the lives you would be risking of people around you when you listen to the music too loud or get distracted when skipping a song.
Recommendations
With the pros and cons mentioned above, we have established that listening to music while riding your motorcycle is indeed entertaining and exciting, but we need to figure out the best ways to do so in order to avoid all kinds of distractions that could lead to a dangerous situation.
Here are our recommendations when it comes to listening to music on your motorcycle and the best ways to do so:
- The safest and easiest way to enjoy music without disturbing the people around you is by using a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet. The Bluetooth helmets have special built-in speakers that automatically connect with any Bluetooth device (such as your cellphone or an MP3 player) in order to play the music inside your helmet. The best part is, there are no cables and wires involved (as the helmet uses the Bluetooth technology) so you do not have to worry about tangling and hanging wires.
- Another way is to use a stereo system on your motorcycle to play music. Though it may get a little louder for others who are sharing the road with you, it is a safe and legal way to enjoy your ride. All you have to do is to push a couple of buttons near your handlebar to play, pause, stop, or skip the music, and you can enjoy the ride. If having a stereo system on your motorcycle is not a feasible option for you, you can use your iPod or cellphone to listen to the music.
You can use your Bluetooth motorcycle helmet to enjoy music playing inside your helmet while still being able to hear sounds of cars and motorcycles passing by. This makes using your Bluetooth motorcycle helmet safe, effective, and enjoyable.
Volume
When you ride your motorcycle, you need to be alert and able to listen to the stuff happening around you. The volume of your music plays a vital role in this. If the volume is too high, it will not only distract the passengers, drivers, or pedestrian around you, it will also cause hinderance in your ability to listen to the surrounding sounds, and could even result in a fatal accident. When you are on your motorcycle, you need as much awareness as possible, but then you also have to enjoy your music, right?
Make sure the volume is high enough for you to listen to your favorite singer but low enough to not cause any problems in your ride.
Not only that, loud music can damage your ears and listening to loud music for a long interval of time can result in long-term and irreversible hearing problem. As if the sound of your motorcycle is not loud enough! The sound coming out of your motorcycle is around 70 to 80 decibels. Now add the sound of your music and think what it can do to your ear drums. As per a study, listening to a sound that is over 100 decibels for more than 30 minutes could cause damage to your hearing abilities.
The best way is to enjoy music safely and you can do so by not playing the music at its loudest volume. Go for the volume setting that is hearable and safe for your ears, without broadcasting your music to the world – no matter how much you want to.
The Rules Of Listening To Music
The rules for listening to music are not that straight forward. Listening to music in a car could be different than doing so in a motorcycle. While there are not many laws explicitly pointing towards listening to music when you are on your motorcycle, there are certain laws that tell you what you can and cannot do when operating a vehicle, and these laws apply to motorcycles as well.
Legal or Illegal?
There are several states in the US that ban using earbuds and headphones when you are driving any kind of vehicle – car or a motorcycle. The American Automobile Association (AAA) explicitly states the laws that involve using headphones in every state.
Using headsets and headphones can hinder the abilities of the driver/ rider and deprive him/ her from knowing what is going on around his/ her vehicle. There are certain music speakers and devices that block out the external noise enhancing your experience to enjoy music, but this also blocks some important senses that may help you make an important decision while you are on the road. As a result, the devices that are especially marketed to block the external sounds can backfire resulting in a serious accident.
Not to mention, what if the wires or the speaker get loose and interfere with your riding? Headphones can easily fall off causing discomfort and most importantly, unwanted distractions.
Conclusion
You can enjoy listening to music when you are riding a motorcycle. The two safer options are to go for Bluetooth motorcycle helmet or the stereo system. While the stereo system may get too loud for the people around you and too distracting for you if you do not keep the volume in control, a great way to listen to your favorite music on the road is by using a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet.
Since enjoyment should not be costing you a permanent hearing loss, make sure the volume does not exceed 100 decibels as listening to any music over this limit may result in permanently damaging your ears.
There are many advantages of listening to music in general, and it is a great way to pass your time and get entertained while you are riding your motorcycle. As long as you are abiding by the ethical rules and enforced law, you can enjoy a long motorcycle ride listening to music in order to make your journey both enjoyable and safe at the same time.
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