‘Headphone dodgers’ on public transport should face £1000 fine - Have your say

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More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice Ministers are facing calls to implement penalties as stiff as £1,000 for individuals caught blaring loud music on public transport. The Liberal Democrats have launched an appeal for action against what they term "headphone dodgers" and point out that a significant portion of passengers frequently feel too intimidated to challenge those responsible, advocating instead for the introduction of fresh rules to protect the "quiet majority". Have your say! Should 'headphone dodgers' face huge fines? Join the conversation .

Findings from a survey organised by the Lib Dems indicate that nearly four in 10 individuals have suffered the irritation of overly loud music or videos while travelling. The party is urging the Government to establish laws to curb such intrusive behaviour. The party's Home Affairs spokesperson, Lisa Smart, voices her concern: "Far too many people dread their daily commute because of the blight of antisocial behaviour - and headphone dodgers playing loud music on buses and trains are some of the worst offenders.

" The survey shed light on the fact that 54% of UK residents feel uneasy confronting someone over the noise level. Expanding on this, Ms Smart said: "Time and time again, I hear from people who say they feel too intimidated to speak up when someone is blasting music or other content from a phone or speaker," as noted by the Mirror . Ms Smart continued, denouncing the culprits for displaying "complete disregard for others", and made it clear: "It's time to take a stand for the quiet majority who just want to get from A to B in peace.

" The Liberal Democrats are proposing amendments to the Bus Services Bill, which is winding its way through Parliament, to include a new rule targeting 'headphone dodgers. ' They also call for railway bylaws to be revised to tackle the rampant issue of playing loud music and videos. A Sevanta poll involving 2,174 adults indicated a gender divide in willingness to address noisy behaviour, with 63% of women and 46% of men uncomfortable confronting those playing loud music on public transport.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch weighed in on Thursday, initially expressing ignorance about the Lib Dems' suggestion: "I'm not somebody that looks at the Lib Dems for policy ideas. I think that they have a lot of silly people there who don't necessarily understand how things work." However, she acknowledged the problem of disruptive behaviour, adding: "What I would say, though, is that nuisance is a problem.

It is very, very irritating having people playing loud music and just being antisocial for all of the other passengers on public transport and more should be done around that. "I don't know whether many of the people who do those things could even afford to pay £1,000 fines, I'm not sure whether it would work, we would have to look a little bit more at that, but I'm very, very much against antisocial behaviour and I think that that's something that we could be looking more at." Have your say! Should 'headphone dodgers' face huge fines? Join the conversation .

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