Question: All over town, I see people wearing earbuds and headphones while driving — commercial drivers and personal drivers. Is this legal?

Answer: Yes, it is legal for adults to wear earbuds or headphones while driving, as long as the driver keeps both hands on the steering wheel and is paying attention to the road, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Hawaii has one of the strictest laws against distracted driving in the country, mandating under Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-137 that “no person shall operate a motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device.”

But the law defines “using” the device as holding it, so hands-free use, as via earbuds and headphones, is allowed for adults. Drivers under age 18 may not operate such devices while behind the wheel, even hands-free ones.

There are a few exceptions under the law, including for drivers calling 911 and for emergency responders performing official duties. The statute also allows drivers to handle the devices if their vehicle is at a complete stop, safely “by the side of the road out of the way of traffic” and with the engine off.

The law focuses on the use of mobile communication devices, while it’s fair to assume that some of the drivers you see are simply listening to music. However, even that can be distracting at times.

Every day in the United States, about eight people die and 1,160 are injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC cites three main types of distraction: visual, or taking your eyes off the road; manual, or taking your hands off the wheel; and cognitive, or taking your mind off driving. Text-ing while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three, according to the CDC, which also cites risky activities such as talking on a cellphone, eating and using vehicular navigation systems.

Also on the subject of distracted driving:

Q: I am curious if an e-cig is considered an electronic device in regards to driving a car. I’ve seen drivers blowing a lot of smoke out their car windows, considerably more than from a regular cigarette, and have to believe that it can become a vision impairment at some point.

A: Hawaii’s distracted-driving law (HRS 291C-137) applies to “mobile electronic devices” and defines them as “any handheld or other portable electronic equipment capable of providing wireless or data communication between two or more persons or of providing amusement, including but not limited to a cellular phone, text messaging device, paging device, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, video game, or digital photographic device, but does not include any audio equipment or any equipment installed in a motor vehicle for the purpose of providing navigation, emergency assistance to the operator of the motor vehicle, or video entertainment to the passengers in the rear seats of the motor vehicle.”

E-cigarettes are defined elsewhere in Hawaii statute, such as in HRS 329J-1, which defines an “electronic smoking device” as “any electronic product that can be used to aerosolize and deliver nicotine or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including but not limited to an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, hookah pipe, or hookah pen, and any cartridge or other component of the device or related product, whether or not sold separately.”

The distracted-driving law focuses on communication devices, although it does leave room for mobile electronic devices “providing amusement.”

The definition of e-cigs focuses on the devices as nicotine delivery systems, not as a source of amusement.

Given the distinct definitions, these seem to be separate issues under the law.

Mahalo

I would like a post a “thank you” to the men who helped my cousin and me when our truck broke down Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m. on the Makakilo offramp. About three guys stopped traffic so another guy could reverse and steer the truck safely to the side. We forgot to ask for their names in all the panic and confusion.

Thanks also to the towing company for a quick response. —A reader

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.