this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Privacy
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Why does a car need a microphone?
For hands free phone calls
but my phone has a microphone
Yes, and many regions currently ban any phone usage while driving, including taking phone calls. A hands-free system makes this task much easier.
but my phone microphone can be used during a call with car audio
Why don't you stick your phone in your pocket or a cupholder and then make that phone call.
it's mounted on the dash
you're really not getting the whole "car speakers, phone microphone" setup, are you
Not legal in several areas.
in which places is a dash-mounted phone illegal?
For voice calls with your phone, some cars have voice activated features, etc.
It's all crap I don't need.
My sentiments there. I was wracking my brain trying to find a use case where I would actually need my car to hear me, and I now miss my '86 SAAB 900 SPG
+1...I had 1981 Saab 900 while working at a Volvo dealer and my last one was a 9-3. I miss Saab.
Our 2016 car has voice controls - had it for 3 years before I realized.
Works like shit too.
So my mom can call me because she's lost, but doesn't want to stop to check her Google maps because she's in a "dangerous part of town" (downtown Seattle).
(My mum's not a bigot btw, she just lived in a village of 1000 people until she was 29 and anywhere with more than 20 people at once makes her anxious. Costco trips also have her on alert like she's part of Seal Team Six)
Aside from phone calls, I do find it handy to use with CarPlay when I need to get directions while driving or respond to an SMS.
Bluetooth phone calls?
I suppose, though a BT headset seems less intrusive
It is against traffic laws to be wearing anything on your ears in many places. I got pulled over in Colorado in around 2010 for having one ear of a wired headset on. Didn’t get a ticket, but still sucked.
It’s something about being able to hear sirens and stuff around you. It’s dumb because people will blast music as loud as they want but having one ear covered gets you in trouble.
Deaf people can drive though
Yeah I'm sure those laws only exist in states where no one has taken the extra time and money to challenge them, because they're obviously inconsistent and unjust.
Oh, I know. And I wonder how many people with large hearing aids get pulled over too.
Deaf people spend their entire live deaf and they adapt. They don't suddenly become deaf when they start driving.
Except for the ones that don't. Do you really not know about hearing loss?
Some drivers suddenly become deaf but don’t suddenly stop driving though too.
Agreed. That sounds like needless legislation. Especially considering that there have been studies that show that "loud pipes DON'T save lives." The interior of modern cars are so soundproofed that most people won't hear those really loud motorcycles until they are right next to them. Same for many sirens I would wager.
More to do with the Doppler effect than anything dealing with sound deadening. You also don't point the pipes the direction your going .
Don't give those assholes any ideas.
Even if they did, it would work terribly.