Hands-free or “Bluetooth systems are increasingly common in cars. Also, in the case of motorcyclists, who carry this type of integrated system in the helmet. But are the bluetooth motorcycle helmet 100% safe?
The first thing to do is to clarify that Bluetooth systems for motorists are legal as long as they are integrated into the helmet, are approved, and do not work through headphones that must be inserted into the ear.
As specified in section 2 of Article 18 of the General Traffic Regulations : “It is forbidden to drive and use headphones or headphones connected to sound receivers or players, except during the corresponding teaching and the performance of circuit proficiency tests open for obtaining the driving license for two-wheeled motorcycles when required by the General Regulations of Drivers .
But, “the use of mobile phone devices and any other means of the communication system is prohibited while driving, except when the communication takes place without using your hands or wearing headphones, headphones or similar instruments. The agents of the authority in the exercise of the functions entrusted to them are exempt from the said prohibition.
Also, a Bluetooth system for motorcyclists must allow you to listen entirely to the ambient sound so that the driver can perceive, for example, the sound of the surrounding vehicles, a horn, traffic light, or any other acoustic signal that informs or alerts you of a near danger. This is possible because the helmets with this type of integrated system usually equip a speaker near – but never inside the ear and a microphone at the level of the mouth.
Advantages and disadvantages of Bluetooth systems
The intercoms of motorcycle helmets can allow you to take a call without this implying using your hands since otherwise, it will not be an approved system and will not be of legal use. It is an advantage to be able to answer a call at any time without using our hands, but at the same time, it can be inconvenient if the call misleads us or distracts us.
Some of these systems integrated into motorcycle helmets, in addition to allowing users to receive calls, also enable them to listen to the radio while driving or follow the guidance of the browser, in the case of systems that also integrate it or the Smartphone That is linked.
Although drivers with Bluetooth in the helmet do not have to use their hands to perform these functions, attention is inevitably not entirely on the road and in traffic so that it could be dangerous in certain traffic situations for both of them, as for the other users of the way. As is the case in the car and despite having an approved Bluetooth system, the use of the calling function should be restricted to the minimum possible on the motorcycle, answering only if we consider it an emergency and reducing the duration of the call to the maximum possible if is that we can not leave the circulation safely to talk on the phone.
