Loud Music Hinders Drivers Behind The Wheel

We’ve all pulled a muscle or got a neck injury from  listening to loud music and ‘trying’ to dance, but loud music behind the wheel can do more than just pull a muscle or two. In car sound systems are becoming more popular, and are a particularly accessory favourite among young male drivers, who are statistically synonymous with car accidents.

Highway to Hell:

You might be on the open road listening to some tunes with great bass, so loud you can sing without worrying about hearing whether you hit the high notes or not – but it has been proven that listening to loud music while driving can seriously hamper reaction times and cause accidents.

So next time your singing ‘Bat out of hell’ or ‘Get out of my dreams and into my car’ think about your music not only being a nuisance to others, but also the risk factor and likelihood of a serious accident.

Recent studies have shown that motorists took up to 20% longer to perform physical and mental task to loud music. The RAC has warned that if motorists were delayed that long at the wheel they could suffer a fatal crash.

It is unlikely that cruising along to the gentle sounds of Classical music on BBC radio 3  will put you in danger of having a car crash but those who have their stereos cranked up to the max and blast out loud, big base tunes are thought to be putting themselves and the rest of us at risk.

Motorists who listen to loud music with a fast beat are twice as likely to go through a red light. They were also found to have twice the amount of road accidents than drivers who either didn't listen to music or opted for gentler sounds had, increasing their risk of sustaining personal injuries such as whiplash.

Every Day is a Winding Road:

If you want to stay on the straight and narrow without any distractions which may hinder your or other motorists driving habits, turning the music down will ensure more concentration and less likelihood of road rage.

It has been revealed that drivers who listen to rap or hip-hop music in their cars are most at risk of accidents or road rage incidents.

Stereo systems appear to be getting louder, more sophisticated and more affordable which means that vehicles booming to the beat of pop, rap, hip-hop, rock and reggae are becoming all the more common.

Authorities have a number of actions to take if they find a motorist is driving without due care of others as well as helping to reduce car crashes and the number of subsequent car accident claims made. Serving an ASBO banning drivers from certain roads under the Police Reform Act 2002 and Seizing a vehicle under the same act are just two actions that should cut down the number of loud music related accidents on UK roads.

Although the decrease in reaction time from playing loud music translates into mere fractions of a second, on the UK's busy roads, this reduction could mean the difference between a hit or a miss.

- K.J.N -