<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>epalm</author><text>I wear earplugs when I ride my motorcycle for longer trips on the highway. When people see this, they say &amp;quot;that&amp;#x27;s dangerous, you&amp;#x27;ll hear less&amp;quot; but it mostly cuts the wind noise, and counter-intuitively I end up hearing more than I would otherwise.</text><parent_chain><item><author>whenchamenia</author><text>At least in most of the usa, wearing earplugs (or earbuds, headphones, etc) while operating a car, is illegal. Please check with your local PD to be safe. You may just be putting yourself and others at higher risk by attinuating your situational awareness.</text></item><item><author>TheSpiceIsLife</author><text>I’ve taken up wearing earplugs while driving.&lt;p&gt;I also work in a noisy environment, and it occurs to me that the road and engine and wind noise is probably loud enough to have a negative impact on hearing over time. Less so in newer cars, but both mine are over 10yo.&lt;p&gt;Also, in the event of a collision I’m protected.</text></item><item><author>taylorlapeyre</author><text>I lost most of my hearing in my left ear in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. No other injuries. The audiologist said that my eardrum was in the kind of state you usually only see in battlefields from exposure to large explosions.&lt;p&gt;People are always surprised when I tell them this was my only injury, and as a result I&amp;#x27;ve always wondered how common this type of injury is with vehicle collisions. This is the first thing I&amp;#x27;ve seen which makes me believe that it&amp;#x27;s a lot more common than people suspect.&lt;p&gt;Very cool! I hope this is taken up by other brands as well.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound</title><url>https://www.mercedesbenzofnatick.com/new-features-mercedes-benz-comand-system.htm</url></story>
<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>phinnaeus</author><text>On a motorcycle, earplugs are a necessity at speeds over 35 MPH due to wind noise. I&amp;#x27;ve found that the earplugs really only cut out the wind noise for the most part though and if anything, my awareness of other cars is increased.</text><parent_chain><item><author>whenchamenia</author><text>At least in most of the usa, wearing earplugs (or earbuds, headphones, etc) while operating a car, is illegal. Please check with your local PD to be safe. You may just be putting yourself and others at higher risk by attinuating your situational awareness.</text></item><item><author>TheSpiceIsLife</author><text>I’ve taken up wearing earplugs while driving.&lt;p&gt;I also work in a noisy environment, and it occurs to me that the road and engine and wind noise is probably loud enough to have a negative impact on hearing over time. Less so in newer cars, but both mine are over 10yo.&lt;p&gt;Also, in the event of a collision I’m protected.</text></item><item><author>taylorlapeyre</author><text>I lost most of my hearing in my left ear in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. No other injuries. The audiologist said that my eardrum was in the kind of state you usually only see in battlefields from exposure to large explosions.&lt;p&gt;People are always surprised when I tell them this was my only injury, and as a result I&amp;#x27;ve always wondered how common this type of injury is with vehicle collisions. This is the first thing I&amp;#x27;ve seen which makes me believe that it&amp;#x27;s a lot more common than people suspect.&lt;p&gt;Very cool! I hope this is taken up by other brands as well.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Mercedes-Benz pre-safe sound</title><url>https://www.mercedesbenzofnatick.com/new-features-mercedes-benz-comand-system.htm</url></story>