Two thirds of UK motorists reckon having loud music blaring in the car might actually be causing a distraction, according to new research.
Driving while distracted won’t just cause you to miss your motorway junction - it can prove a danger to life.
Recent stats released by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) found that ‘distracted drivers’ were a contributing factor in 16,333 ‘road incidents’ in 2021.
Of those incidents, some 3,700 of the ‘distractions’ were reported as coming from inside the car.
And now road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has sounded the alarm about how music blasting from your vehicle’s speakers might be one of those potential distractions.
So if you’re driving home for Christmas with Chris Rhea on the sound system, you might want to dial it down a notch…
IAM RoadSmart surveyed 1,004 motorists, with 69 per cent of respondents agreeing with the belief that ‘having loud music on while driving can be distracting’.
A further 36 per cent admitted that listening to music while driving has an impact on how fast they drive.
Meanwhile, two thirds (62 per cent) of respondents said that they turn off music when confused or stressed.
Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at IAM RoadSmart, commented:
“Distracted drivers and speeding are two of the biggest contributing factors in road collision and deaths.
“While there are a multitude of reasons why these tragic events occur, our survey has shone a light on perhaps a less apparent reason as to why drivers may become distracted or exceed the speed limit.”
It’s not the first piece of research to examine the effects of music when driving.
Back in 2019, we reported on how scientists had pointed the finger at rock music in particular for making people’s driving worse.
Researchers from South China University of Technology reported how test subjects who listened to rock music - as opposed to more soothing tunes or nothing at all - drove more aggressively, changed lanes more frequently, and added 5 mph to their average speed.
Dr Qiang Zeng described how, ‘perceived mental workload, standard deviation of speed, and frequency of lane crossing were higher when driving under the influence of rock music than that when driving under the influence of light music or an absence of music.’
Bad news for fans of bands like Metallica and Foo Fighters, then.
Back in 2013 a separate study from the University of Negev, Israel, found ‘background music’ was a particular risk factor for young and novice drivers.
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