BBC News Online: Health
Wednesday, 13 March, 2002, 19:38 GMT
Fast music - dangerous driving
High speed music is linked to high speed driving
Listening to fast music in the car may make people
drive too quickly as well - increasing their risk of
having an accident. Israeli researchers found drivers
who listen to uptempo tunes had more than twice as many
accidents as those listening to slower music. Other
research has shown a link between loud music and
dangerous driving. In this research, Warren Brodsky at
Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, looked at the
effect of music's tempo on driver behaviour.
In the study, 28 students - all of whom had been
driving for around seven years - were given different
types of music to listen to at high volume. Each was
monitored as they used a driving simulator, on which
they drive around the virtual streets of Chicago while
listening to different pieces of music, or none at all.
The researchers chose a range of music for the drivers
to listen to, from laid-back George Benson ballads to
clubbing music. Tempos ranged from a slow 60 beats per
minute up to a fast and furious 120 beats per minute or
more.
Those drivers listening to uptempo music were twice as
likely to go through a red light as those who were not
listening to any music at all. Drivers were also found
to have twice as many accidents when they were
listening to fast tempos as when they listened to slow
or medium-paced music. Drivers' heart rates were seen
to fluctuate less when they were listening to music of
any kind compared with no music at all. Mr Brodsky,
Schillinger Fellow for the Study of Music Sciences, at
the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University,
suggested this shows that all kinds of music distract
drivers and make them less alert. He added that a study
of driving patterns on a simulator may not be
replicated on the roads. But he said: "I think it's got
to be taken seriously."
He advised drivers to choose slower pieces of music, or
to turn down the volume so that there is less chance of
them being distracted from their driving. He chose the
pieces that he used in the study after listening to
them as he drove to work. He said: "I could hardly
control myself with some of the pieces. It was
difficult taking my foot off the gas pedal. I'm now
more careful in my choice of music."
Safe driving experts called for more research into all
kinds of "driver distraction", from mobile phone
conversations to changing the tape in the stereo. Roger
Vincent of the Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents (RoSPA) told BBC News Online: "This is a
really small study and we need to see wider research.
"We would like to see research carried out into all
kinds of driver distraction." But he said the link
found in the Israeli study between faster tempos and
faster driving could be seen as a warning for drivers.
"It's a reminder to take their foot of the accelerator.
A thousand deaths a year are associated with speed."
Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA, said:
"The main thing is that the music isn't so loud that it
doesn't stop you thinking about your driving."