Are Headphones A Distraction For Wyoming Drivers?

Driving through town the other day, I noticed a girl turning at a stoplight wearing headphones while she was driving. This struck me as odd because I was under the impression that it was illegal and considered distracted driving.

Wearing headphones (or earbuds) limits what you can hear around you as you drive.

For instance, if you're driving with headphones and listening to music, you may not hear the siren of a firetruck, ambulance, or police vehicle as it is approaching the intersection.

Or, you check your blind spot and switch lanes, but can't hear the motorcycle coming in the lane next to you.

I'm not saying that someone is wrong for wearing headphones while driving; they may have circumstances that require them to wear them. Like, their vehicle isn't equipped with hands-free driving technology, and they're trying to be safe and not hold their phone while driving or listening to directions.

To each their own, I'm not trying to be a grumpy old man, just trying to help. I see things like that and wonder if others around me were wondering the same thing. Honestly, it was our topic of conversation for six blocks.

I'm not a lawyer, but I found information from 1-800-Lion law.com

Wearing headphones while driving in Wyoming:

Wyoming, like most states except for a few, does NOT have a law in place making it illegal to wear headphones (earbuds) while driving. Even though there's no law against using them, wearing headphones could lead to evidence of negligence.

If you're in an accident with someone wearing headphones, some law firms recommend:

Document the headphones being used while still at the scene of the accident, take photos of the headphones, ask officers to include the headphone use in the accident report, and see if any witnesses saw the headphones causing a distraction.