Music For Driving Safely

Research has been conducted at the University of Negev that suggests that teens who listen to their favourite music on the road are significantly more distracted and commit errors in their driving. A driving instructor/researcher accompanied 85 novice male and female drivers on six different 40-minute trips. On two of the trips, drivers played music from their own playlists; two trips involved background music that was designed to increase driver safety; and the final trips involved no music at all.

It was found that when the drivers were listening to their favourite music (dance, techno and rock topping the list, followed closely by punk, pop, hip-hop and rap), 98% of them averaged three deficient driving behaviours, with 32% requiring a verbal warning or command. 20% even required assisted braking or steering from the instructor to prevent an imminent accident.

When there was no music in the car, 92% of drivers made errors, whilst listening to the music selected by the researchers, errors dropped by 20%. The music contained a mix of easy listening, light jazz and soft rock and did not include vocal performances or lyrics.

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