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| |  Posted 10/4/2007 7:00:36 PM | |
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Forum Member
 
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Last Login: 6/3/2008 12:53:23 PM
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| I am not convinced that the ipod had anything to do with the accident. The same things could easily happen to any untrained worker or irresponsible cyclist.
I really want to understand this issue out of respect for my fellow coworkers. I could understand the possibility of the wires being caught in a centrifuge or something with moving parts but I think some people want to stop people from exercising a little personal freedom in the work place because they are unhappy. I worked the grave yard shift at a lab and received more than 500 samples each night that needed to be logged and bar coded for analysis. This was the most boring job in the world. If it had not been for music I would have not made it.
I think it depends on the work your doing and there should not be one blanket policy. It should be task specific and address any real safety issue. |
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| | | Posted 10/4/2007 7:36:18 PM | |
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 10/3/2008 4:56:27 PM
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| Wow. I am clearly baffled and surprised that someone would clearly state that wearing earphones connected to an iPod is NOT a safety issue. California Vehicle Code Division 12, Chapter 5, Article 3.5, Section 37400 clearly makes it a vehicular infraction to be caught wearing ear phones while driving! This ensures that the person driving the vehicle can HEAR a blaring siren. That is, if you could not see the flashing lights. It does clearly state that earplugs must cover both ears. There is no problem as long as one ear is left uncovered. I could probably look up OSHA regulations as well and probably find the same thing.
E. coli happens!Database Central 
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| | | Posted 10/5/2007 8:45:26 AM | |
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 9/26/2008 9:35:13 AM
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| If it had not been for music I would have not made it Whats wrong with just playing a radio for music? Also, the earphones the bicyclist was wearing when I hit him WERE the cause of the accident - he said so himself! Its not just a matter of not being able to hear whats going on, but as I've said before, I think listening through earphones causes you to be more absorbed in the music (rather than your surroundings) than if you were just listening to a radio in the background. |
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| | | Posted 10/5/2007 10:56:25 AM | |
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| Wearing earphones while driving legislation was passed not because of any accidents but because of paranoid politicians that have nothing better to do for our community than make laws that don't truly improve our surroundings. I am sure if we put our collective heads together we could make better laws.
I agree that there is a small amount of risk in allowing some lab employees to wear earphones. |
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| | | Posted 10/5/2007 11:46:16 AM | |
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| | | Posted 10/5/2007 12:43:16 PM | |
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 10/3/2008 4:56:27 PM
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| | People that wear iPods while performing any type of activity other than standing in place need to receive the Darwin Award. I'll one up you on the "burning iPod" and parallel it to the idiot golfers that play while a thunderstorm is wreaking havoc the course. Use the following links to access PDF reports put out by New England Journal of Medicine. People getting struck by lightning while wearing iPods: Thunderstorms and iPods: Not a Good Idea More on Thunderstorm and iPods With this situation, forget about having any more ear drums. Since the cable runs from the iPod to your ears, the electrical surge runs directly to your ear drums. They are literally burst from within.
E. coli happens! Database Central |
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| | | Posted 10/8/2007 12:44:56 PM | |
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 6/6/2008 4:03:33 PM
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| MR_HOLMES (10/5/2007)
Wearing earphones while driving legislation was passed not because of any accidents but because of paranoid politicians that have nothing better to do for our community than make laws that don't truly improve our surroundings. I am sure if we put our collective heads together we could make better laws. I agree that there is a small amount of risk in allowing some lab employees to wear earphones. ...I am not convinced that the ipod had anything to do with the accident. The same things could easily happen to any untrained worker or irresponsible cyclist.
I really want to understand this issue out of respect for my fellow coworkers. I think that your desire to really understand this issue is thwarted by your unwillingness to be convinced by any amount of evidence that diminishing one's ability to hear one's coworkers, whether or not they are boring coworkers, is unwise. Deaf people use special devices to compensate for their loss of hearing. The original quote is much better, but to paraphrase someone who has experienced both: "Blindness will disconnect people from things, But deafness disconnects people from people." G |
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| | | Posted 10/16/2007 11:40:56 AM | |
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 3/12/2008 5:03:15 PM
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| | I'm in the minority here, but I don't see it any different than listening to a radio. You can turn either too loud to the point of distraction. I typically use my ipod in our cube farm, loud enough to reduce distractions around me, but low enough that I can hear conversation if anyone pops their head in and asks a question. (and yes, I remove the earbuds for a conversation) If you walk by someone and can hear sound from their ear buds, or if you call them, and they don't hear you, then yes its time to turn it down. Otherwise, it shouldn't be a problem. |
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| | | Posted 10/16/2007 1:05:51 PM | |
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Forum Member
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| I am with you. We sometimes blast the music loud enough to wake the dead. It is embarrassing when customers come in but we have fun anyway.
I think this issue is more about group dynamics and social norms than safety. |
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