Road safety – Prohibition of ear cups on the handlebars: Tuyaucom threatened … –

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Prohibition of atria on the handlebars: the Tuyaucom threatened…

Road safety - Prohibition of ear cups on the handlebars: Tuyaucom threatened ... -

As of July 1, devices emitting sound through a headset will be prohibited while driving. Laudable but poorly put together, this decision threatens a simple and effective French system: Tuyaucom. Update with its creator, Pierre Trotoux.

In less than a week, listening to music, instructions from your GPS or messages from your phone via a device in direct contact with the ear (in-ear headphones and headphones) will be prohibited while driving a car, truck, motorcycle, scooter and even … a bike (read).

This new law applicable on July 1, 2015 provides for a € 135 fine and a withdrawal of 3 points on the license in the event of an offense..

It nevertheless allows the use of communication and listening systems that do not need to be held in the hand or worn in the ear. Are concerned by this tolerance the so-called Bluetooth devices "integrated" in the passenger compartment, but also the systems mounted on the hulls of the helmets and whose flat earpads are installed in the foams (read in particular our and our).

Let’s go over the iniquity of this law (no license being required for cycling, the sanction will be very different between a simple cyclist and the holder of the car, motorcycle, heavy goods vehicle license, or even all three) to emphasize that this tolerance has was added as a matter of urgency to meet the needs of motorcyclists and scooter riders, totally forgotten when this measure n ° 22 of the Road Safety Action Plan was announced (read)…

An "oversight" all the more awkward than the motorbike schools but also – and above all? – gendarmes and police on motorcycles make extensive use of Bluetooth systems to communicate. During a verbalization by a biker from the police, it would have been a bit messy…

But if this exception relieves users of two-wheelers "connected" to Bluetooth motorcycle systems – as well as their manufacturers! -, it leaves aside a communication device whose simplicity and efficiency has yet proven itself for 20 years: the Tuyaucom…

The interior tangles the pipes…

Remember that Tuyaucom is a clever system allowing you to chat with your passenger on a motorcycle through simple pipes … hence its name! At one end is a plastic part to be placed in the chin bar, which acts as a "microphone", and on the other an earpiece that is molded to adapt it to the shape of his ear (thumbnail below ).

As with a stethoscope, sound is carried in a "natural" way from the mouth to the ear, without a Bluetooth connection, no electronic transmitter / receiver and even less batteries! Imagined in 1994 by Pierre Trotoux, then press worker, Tuyaucom will be marketed two years later by this brilliant and sympathetic "Geo Trouvetou" through, a small company set up with his wife.

The success quickly exceeded the couple’s expectations: sales grew to reach 15,000 units per year in 2004/2005 (!) And up to three employees were employed full time! Remember that at the time, electronic communication systems cost an arm and their operation was at the very least uncertain. Not to mention the listening quality, often deplorable and unstable…

Bikers therefore appreciate the Tuyaucom at its fair value, not only for its moderate price (€ 59.30 currently) but also for its surprising efficiency. Unfortunately, with progress helping, technology has improved and Bluetooth intercoms have gradually taken over the ground ceded to Tuyaucom. And today, why bother with pipes when it is so easy – and trendy – to connect to your "i-Galaxy-Nokia-Windows-Phone" ?

Awarded by the Minister of the Interior in 1998, banned in 2015 !

As a result, Tuyaucom’s sales declined gradually, reaching approximately "850 units in 2014", indicates to us its creator. Gradually, the activity of Astumania is reduced until reaching a critical threshold, obliging to lay off the employees despite the creation of other well thought-out products such as a secure bungee cord or a tarpaulin fixing system or fillets, the Clacpack…

Now 69 years old, Pierre Trotoux continues his activity alone without paying himself a salary, just so as not to give up "his baby". Installed in Pont-d’Ouilly (14), in the middle of Normandy Switzerland, in a small workshop located with his son, he would like to sell his business to a buyer but without success for the moment….

However, his projects became a little more complicated with the arrival of this new law on communication systems: Tuyaucom using an in-ear listening system, its use as is will logically be prohibited from July 1. !

"It’s hardly believable: I received the medal of the Minister of the Interior at the Lepine competition in 1998 for Tuyaucom, and today this same ministry signs its death warrant.", indignant Pierre Trotoux, contacted by Site.

The entrepreneur therefore wrote to Bernard Cazeneuve to request that an exemption be granted to his product, recalling in particular its usefulness in terms of safety (reassuring and advising a novice passenger, for example), its ease of use (no button to handle, neither when stationary nor especially while driving) and its efficiency.

A less efficient alternative to continue…

"Tuyaucom only uses one headset, so it does not "isolate" its user from traffic as some other systems do. In addition, its excellent listening quality means that the conversation does not cover the noise around, unlike others whose volume must be turned up.", describes its designer.

Two days after sending his mail, Pierre Trotoux received a confirmation of receipt informing him that his file was being studied … But since then it has been radio silence, despite a reminder from him: "I would like to be fixed, July 1st, it’s almost tomorrow", rightly annoys this endearing inventor…

Asked by MNC to know how he would proceed in the event of a negative answer, Pierre Trotoux replied with malice "fortunately not have only one trick in my bag! If I do not obtain a waiver, I will remove the two-component silicone moldable earpiece from the kit. (material used in particular by dentists, editor’s note) and I will make a kind of funnel to place at the level of the earlobe".

"The system will continue to function in this way, although the sound quality will obviously be lower. What’s more, it would force me to remake a mold and it’s expensive", regrets the founder of Astumania, certainly not decided to throw in the towel despite the difficulties !

"I wish to continue, I don’t want my "baby" to die", he confides with pride."Especially since I recently received requests for a very specific use of Tuyaucom, in particular in nuclear power plants or to facilitate the conversation between patient and doctor during an examination via MRI.".

Will his invention remain a "tip" for bikers? Stay Connected: Huggy-Net.Com Site is monitoring the case closely !

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