Is there anything better than listening to music while driving? Zooming down the road on a sunny day with your windows down and the wind blowing in your hair and belting out a power tune, or just you and the open road on a night trip channeling Pavarotti.
Taking it down a notch with something low key when it’s raining, or cranking up the volume when an old favourite unexpectedly comes on the radio.
Listening to music is a great way to pass the time when you are driving long distances.
Avis Fleet also wants you to stay safe on the roads, did you know that according to some research listening to our favourite songs at high volume while driving isn’t always such a good idea?
There is some interesting research that shows the volume that you play your music at might affect your reaction time as a driver. The findings of this study showed that, as the music in cars became louder, reaction time of drivers became slower.
An average of a 0.12 second difference in reaction time was measured between the lowest and highest volumes.
That might not seem like a lot, but if you take into account the amount of time needed to react to a child running into the street, or a car running a red robot, this split second could mean the music stopping for someone permanently.
So don’t play your music too loud and ensure that you have many more songs on the road ahead of you.
Remember, in the unfortunate incident that you are in an accident, Avis Fleet have an accident management solution that will make your life easier.
Techno music makes your driving worse.
According to this Israeli study test subjects who were listening to music on a set driving course, showed more level heart rates than those who weren’t listening to music.
That would be good for the music lovers in a way, since it indicated they were more calm, but bad because they were not as reactive to stimuli as their counterparts.
Drivers listening to more up tempo music (120-140 beats per minute is the average speed for most dance and techno music) were found to be 50% more likely to run red robots and had double the accidents compared to those listening to slower music.
London University psychologist Dr. Simon Moore said in an interview that noisy and upbeat music increases the heart rate and can be a deadly mix because fast beats cause excitement that lead to drivers concentrating more on the music and less on the road.
“A fast tempo can cause people to subconsciously speed up to match the tempo of the song,” he added. So, songs like “Hey Mama” by The Black Eyed Peas, “Paradise City” by Guns ‘n Roses, and “Heartless” by Kanye West are out.
Instead, Moore recommends songs that mimic the human heartbeat which is around 60 to 80 beats per minute. These, more mellow songs, include “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, and “Hero” by Mariah Carey.
We want to make sure that you are taken care of. Avis Fleet offers a range of solutions including the accident management solution to ensure that you are never alone on the road.