loud music while driving

peasant

While driving to work, I usually listen to the radio (can't beat a bit of "gift grub" for breakfast )

Well this morning they played a bit of Staus Quo, that really hit my particular mood and so I turned it up to the max (standard car radio so still well under 100 db/A) and sang along.

Well ...all of a sudden I found myself driving in too high a gear, then in the wrong gear and to top it all taking a bend a bit wide (all no problem as I was the only car on the road)

So I turned it down and continued to drive normally again.

How loud have you got your music and how distracting do you find it?

dubstub

I'd listen to my music quite loud (not offensively so though) and never thought it was distracting.
Recently I've found myself turning it down automatically when parking in a tight spot or when unsure of what turn I'm meant to be taking so needing to concentrate more. This would lead me to believe that it does affect concentration, which can lead to mistakes or speeding.
I think one of the car shows did a test on this some years ago. Everyone performed significantly worse on basic driving tests except for one jewelled, fat bloke in a BMW with a fat exhaust pipe and Lexus lights. I suspect he was well used to driving with German techno blaring.

Lex Luthor

When I listen to Snow Patrol I drive slow, when I listen to megadeth I drive Faaassssstttt...........!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jood

dubstub wrote:

I'd listen to my music quite loud (not offensively so though) and never thought it was distracting.
Recently I've found myself turning it down automatically when parking in a tight spot or when unsure of what turn I'm meant to be taking so needing to concentrate more. This would lead me to believe that it does affect concentration, which can lead to mistakes or speeding.

Yep this sounds like me I normally turn it down when in situations that need my full concentration, but otherwise I have it fairly loud especially on a longer drive.

fletch

I listen to mine as loud as it will go on roads I know/on my way to work.....
When I'm pushin along on some back road, I turn it off/down very low so I can hear the engine/tyre screechin
I also turn it down if I'm parking (restrict the damage if I accidentally hit something, not happened yet fingers crossed) or pulling out of a junction (and also wind down the windows)

sneakyST

The reason we turn the music down is that the male brain can only focus on one task at a time .....i do it as well

Owen

I'm with Lex. Linkin Park, Trivium, Dream Theater, and Megadeth are my tunes of choice, I find with rock, I drive the same speed. With house music (My other temptation), I drive slower with a chilled out vibe.

ToxicPaddy

Club choons (more up tempo stuff) are usually played when on the open road cruising as a decent enough speed, chill out stuff around Dublin or when driving in traffic, helps fend off any road rage moments when I feel like splitting someone open with a wheel brace...

Car Mad

ur not a very good driver if the radio distracts u god help any passengers in ur car.u shud be able to change gear without even thinking about it

fits

Car Mad wrote:

u shud be able to change gear without even thinking about it

Cos thats all there is to driving...:rolleyes:

I dont really listen to music in the car that much anymore, as I only have a tape player in current car, but I do find if something like say leftfield or some nice techno is in the cd changer, I drive a lot faster than I would normally. I dont find music distracting, but then I can do more than one thing at a time.:)

lightening

jees... I am 34 and thought I was old, Status Quo, Megadeth...

"German techno blaring"!!

Are you all old farts?

overdriver

Lex Luthor wrote:

When I listen to Snow Patrol I drive slow, when I listen to megadeth I drive Faaassssstttt...........!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I HAD to listen to Snow Patrol, I would drive into oncoming traffic.
At speed.

peasant

I'll let yez all in on a secret:

I'm actually not "peasant" ... I'm Martin Cullen incognito

This thread has confirmed my suspicions ...loud music leads to speeding and erratic driving. So when this new legislation about learner drivers and new licence holders comes into place, it will also contain a passage that makes car audio equipment illegal.

So you cann all sing to yourselves when you trundle along at 80 km/h.

maidhc

I can't stand driving with the radio up so loud that I can't hear the engine.

When something goes wrong with any machine the first sign is a funny noise... be it a wheel bearing, a dodgy starter, or something more serious.

Same with changing gears. It is easier and safer to change gears by the sound of the engine than staring at the tachometer all day...

peasant

maidhc wrote:

I can't stand driving with the radio up so loud that I can't hear the engine.

When something goes wrong with any machine the first sign is a funny noise... be it a wheel bearing, a dodgy starter, or something more serious.

Same with changing gears. It is easier and safer to change gears by the sound of the engine than staring at the tachometer all day...

Yepp ...I'm the same.

That's why I got all frazzled this morning, because I couldn't hear the engine.

mik_da_man

I defo drive Faster when listening to some fast Progressive House tunes.

My mates have commented on it a few times and say "Uh OH here comes the GO FAST Music"

But I wouldn't have it too loud, I like to be able to hear what the car is doing too

Mik

DublinWriter

Never drive a car to the tune of Firestarter playing loudly. Ever.

leeroybrown

I would say that the loudness of the music was the lesser factor. What really distracted you from what you should have been doing was the fact that you decided to sing along. I'd be relatively sure while you tried to remember the words and sing in time you were quite distracted. You just turned the music up so that you could concentrate on it more.

Squirrel

I find music doesn't distract me so much unless I don't like it. If I like the song I'll sing along without even noticing and don't really hear the song too much. Go here and listen to the song 1837 and then here and listen to All But Alone (no need to download, they stream Windows Media Player).

I have these on the same CD as track 1 and 2 and I find I begin to speed up a bit when 1837 comes on

Car Mad

maidhc wrote:

I can't stand driving with the radio up so loud that I can't hear the engine.

When something goes wrong with any machine the first sign is a funny noise... be it a wheel bearing, a dodgy starter, or something more serious.

Same with changing gears. It is easier and safer to change gears by the sound of the engine than staring at the tachometer all day...

u have to change gear looking at the tachometer if theres loud music lol:D what wud u do if there wasnt a rev counter in ur car:eek:

maidhc

Car Mad wrote:

u have to change gear looking at the tachometer if theres loud music lol:D what wud u do if there wasnt a rev counter in ur car:eek:

Umm... If I couldn't hear the engine, and didn't have a tachometer I would have no way of knowing what speed the engine was spinning at... unless one finds out the gear ratio and extrapolate engine speed from the speedo..

But as I said, I hate driving with the music so loud that I can't hear what is going on around me.

po0k

Car Mad wrote:

u have to change gear looking at the tachometer if theres loud music lol:D what wud u do if there wasnt a rev counter in ur car:eek:

Grind it till you find it

BrianD3

Agree with the points being made. I don't like having the radio loud unless I'm cruising along a good road at constant speed/revs with light traffic and I know exactly where i'm going. At other times I am either listening to the engine or giving extra concentration to my driving. Eg i'd always have the radio muted when overtaking or preparing to overtake. It'd also be muted if approaching a junction. Would often put the windows down too as every little bit of extra sensory information helps especially if visibility is poor. It's not just the radio either if a passenger is yapping away when i'm planning an overtake I tell them to shut it.

My choice of music varies from classical to punk It may surprise some people that certain classical music is said to encourage fast driving. I personally don't let the choice of music influence my driving style.

Seth Brundle

Its not just the loudness but also the tempo!
Seemingly if you listed to loud agressive music you are more likely to get road rage than had you been listening to classical music.
Anyhow, if you have insomnia, then have a look at this - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(01)00025-0

BTW I was listening to Slayer this morning but I was on the M50 so no chance of going fast!

mike65

Mars - Bringer of War is great for battling traffic with

Mike.

Budd

its not loud until you feel sick after 10 mins. Cant beat 12 inch subs inside a car.

Max_Damage

BrianD3 wrote:

It may surprise some people that certain classical music is said to encourage fast driving. .

Agreed, anyone who ever has listened to the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky knows that the foot has to be put to the floor!

Metal music also helps!

Alun

Showing my age here, but Secret Messages by ELO was always one to cause my right foot to become firmly planted to the floor on some of my trans-European midnight dashes in my youth

Gatster

u have to change gear looking at the tachometer if theres loud music lol what wud u do if there wasnt a rev counter in ur car

I learnt to drive/passed test in a car with no rev counter. It had a stereo though , and I still managed to change gear with these two counteracting each other

peasant

On a more somber note:

There was a study done in Germany years ago that showed that some of the (sadly typical) late night / early morning crashes were actually caused by loud music.

Young people, having been to the disco/nightclub, having listened to loud music all evening would then get into their cars (perfectly sober!!) and crank the stereo up to the hilt, to prolong the good athmosphere from the nightclub just another bit along the road.
So they'd be partying rather than driving ...often with lethal consequences.

Robbo

Max_Damage wrote:

Agreed, anyone who ever has listened to the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky knows that the foot has to be put to the floor!

Metal music also helps!

Personally, I find that the 1812 Overture makes me more prone to drive-by cannonings.

I'm sorry Mark Steele for stealing that joke but when else do you get the chance to use it.

dubstub

peasant wrote:

On a more somber note:

There was a study done in Germany years ago that showed that some of the (sadly typical) late night / early morning crashes were actually caused by loud music.

Young people, having been to the disco/nightclub, having listened to loud music all evening would then get into their cars (perfectly sober!!) and crank the stereo up to the hilt, to prolong the good athmosphere from the nightclub just another bit along the road.
So they'd be partying rather than driving ...often with lethal consequences.

I'm curious if they checked for other substances besides alcohol. After all, you'd have to be off your head if you were listening to Scooter all night.

jimmycrackcorm

peasant wrote:

On a more somber note:

There was a study done in Germany years ago that showed that some of the (sadly typical) late night / early morning crashes were actually caused by loud music.

Young people, having been to the disco/nightclub, having listened to loud music all evening would then get into their cars (perfectly sober!!) and crank the stereo up to the hilt, to prolong the good athmosphere from the nightclub just another bit along the road.
So they'd be partying rather than driving ...often with lethal consequences.

I too remember reading of a similar study that showed a direct link between the style of music being played and the overall average speed.

_Kaiser_

Have to admit I usually have the CD player turned up pretty loud.

In the morning driving to work on the N3, it's usually club/dance music - helps put me in a good mood so that by the time I get in, and one can of coke later, I'm ready for the day (plus at this stage it's expected in the office that they hear me coming ). Can't say it encourages me to speed up though as I drive at (or just above) the limits when possible/appropriate anyway.

For more sedate occasions it's the 80s/90s "mellow mix" as I call it, or lately in the afternoon, George Hook on Newstalk. I take pride in the fact that although they're tuned in, I never listen to RTE1/2FM.

Like others have said though I'd automatically turn it down if I'm somewhere I'm unfamiliar with or late at night. I'd be lost without my tunes tho!

digweed

i usually have the radio at an average volume, unless a track comes on that i like, like yesterday was heading to the status quo concert with my dad and cousin and a quo track was played, volume got turned right up.

wasn't there a guy in the uk a few years back that got done for dangerous driving, he claimed that he got carried away with the ride of the valkyries or the charge of the light brigade, something like that. he had the volume up to the last and was careering up a main st with an umbrella out the window pretending it was a sword.

Max_Damage

digweed wrote:

wasn't there a guy in the uk a few years back that got done for dangerous driving, he claimed that he got carried away with the ride of the valkyries or the charge of the light brigade, something like that. he had the volume up to the last and was careering up a main st with an umbrella out the window pretending it was a sword.

Hilarious!

TempestSabre

A friend of mine had his music so loud that while stopped at lights he was interrupted by a someone knocking on the window. On rolling down the window, he discoverd it was the driver from the bus behind. The bus driver had been blowning his horn for the last 2 mins to make him notice the lights had changed to green...:D

Seth Brundle

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1399233,00.html