LISTENING TO MUSIC WHILE DRIVING Hi. Today let’s talk music. In reality, music dominates a significant amount of our daily lives, in that even the most every day activities such as eating a meal, doing a house work or when in the office are frequently accompanied by music. As one would expect, listening to a piece of music while you are driving around can make you to enjoy the ride, yet little is formally and conclusively understood about how it affects driver behavior and performance. A great deal of research has been conducted, and varied ideas have moved on to develop an understanding on how different aspects of music— i.e. music choice, volume, genre, and tempo can affect driver behavior and performance. Research in the context of music review several conclusions on the effects of sound and behavior that are expected to be evoked by music. Just a brief review, in some situations, music is thought to have a beneficial impact on performance, whilst in other situations it is viewed as a source of in-vehicle distraction, with a blend of detrimental effects that can have varying influences on driver behavior and performance. THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC TEMPO ON DRIVING In reviewing the diverse literature on music in relation to task performance, it is apparent that the efficiency with which tasks are performed simply increases with the arousing qualities of the background music (i.e. volume, type, tempo) For example, some studies found that the speed with which bar patrons consumed their drinks increased substantially with the tempo of music played there. Likewise, the same effects could be understood in the phenomenon of driving. From a behavioral psychology perspective, listening to highly emotive songs while driving would increase heart rate which, in turn, produces higher levels of physiological arousal, and much of what follows is obvious: unsafe driving behaviors — suggesting that as the tempo of background music increases, so too does the driving speed, along with traffic violations or aggravating circumstances. WHAT’S THE BEST TYPE OF MUSIC FOR DRIVING, THEN? Some music does help most people concentrate on their driving which, in turn, produces optimum alertness and reduced fatigue. However, music of any kind, if it takes up cognitive(mind) space, then its presence should be detrimental to performance on even very simple tasks, since this music would reduce the attentional space that could be allocated to the already-demanding tasks of safely operating your vehicle. It is, therefore, important to choose songs with which you can listen to without being distracted or having to think too hard about it, because many people tend to give their attention to the words or the rhythm of the music, and subconsciously, their attention is taken away from the road and their surroundings. Under most circumstances, those songs, in and of themselves, may be harmless. However, when you get carried away listening to them rather than concentrating on your driving, the consequence of diverting attention from the road to the music while driving can be life threatening. MUSIC AND DRIVING While no clear blueprint for Music and Driving has been uncovered, many scientific contributions from psychological researchers can be used as frameworks to provide insight into how in-vehicle music can have both positive and negative effects on driving performance. IN TRAFFIC CONGESTION: The prolific growth of the number of vehicles in use today, proximal traffic congestion, combined with inadequate and deteriorating road conditions—can make your commute very frustrating and tiring —but listening to music while you drive can be much more relaxing, ease stress, and keep you in good mood. The music will give you something to focus on rather than fuming about the traffic congestion— making your commute less frustrating and more pleasant. But for some people who get distracted very easily, then it would be quite a hard time trying to concentrate. LONG TRIPS: Music can also keep you awake and focused, in the case of “out-of-town” commutes that seem to be long, boring and tiring. That is, it produces heightened alertness and reduced fatigue while you cruise down the highway. So what do you do when you want to listen to Music, but you dont want the enjoyment of driving to end up in a tragedy? iPods, iPhone, to name a few— are the iDevices that come to mind when you think Music Player nowadays. Whether you listen to CDs, your MP3 player, these music players can, in a way, introduce a certain level of visual, mental or physical distraction on the road. Oftentimes, nearly 80% of all rear-ends and near-miss crashes , especially in slow moving traffic or traffic congestion,often occur as a result of only a moment’s inattention from the road. For instance, while you’re fumbling with an iPod, which can involve finding a fave tune within the song titles menu, switching to a different radio station, inserting or retrieving a CD, something unexpected can happen that you only can see very late because your full attention isn’t on the road. With a whole bunch of negativities music brings, how do we keep ourselves out of this? HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU CAN DO AND REFLECT ON THAT SHOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR A SAFER DRIVER. 1. PLAN AHEAD: If you are trying to choose what music you want to listen to, your best bet is to make a playlist of songs, either on your MP3 player or make a CD mix. 2. Make sure that you get it set up before you hit the road. 3. CDS, RADIO &iPods: Program your favorite radio stations into the presets so you dont have to use the SEEK or TUNE buttons to scroll through them as you drive. If you have one, use a CD changer so you always have a selection of music at the ready. If you use your iPod, you can hook it up to your car stereo if it’s equipped with an auxiliary port. That way, you can listen to your favorite pieces through the car karaoke to avoid too frequent changes. Sure, that split-second you lean over to change your tapes/CDs or switch to a different radio station is just enough time for an accident to happen. If you must change your music simply pull over to the side of the road and put different music on or, even better, enlist the help of your counterpart to help you with your music. Moreover, it is stipulated in the Highway code #Rule NO. 2. CONCENTRATE ALL THE TIME ON YOUR DRIVING TO AVOID ACCIDENTS. Make sense? 4. While some people prefer to have large speakers such as a size 12 speaker, amplifiers, even tweeters hooked up with their system in their vehicles to be able to listen to the music with a good strong bumping as it beats with the bass, others prefer to have music at a reasonable volume or no music at all. But if your music player is blaring…BOOM…BOOM…BOOM—trust me — you become less sensitive to sounds around you, such as the warning honks of other motorists or the sirens of emergency vehicles. Also, blasting on your music as you drive can keep you from hearing unusual sound if something goes wrong with your vehicle. But again, the other point is, despite the fact that some drivers like to play loud music in their vehicles, especially the youngsters (they do this for fun so they can be seen or heard by others), but seriously, heavy or loud sound kills our ears Like our page at Facebook/mupatimotors for more info on smart driving
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 09:00:10 +0000
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