The Danger of Loud Music

Jonas Agwu

Are you a new driver? Are you young? Do you love music like me.Do you know that a study reveals that young and new  drivers make more mistakes when listening to loud music.Do you know that the rate according to the study dropped when they listen to soft music. Do you know that loud music can impact your reaction time,increasing the likelihood of not breaking soon enough or failing to dodge an obstacle in the road.

Like you, I love music. From hip hop, rock, jazz and pop, as well as native music from my favourite village dance group, Oje Enya Leri from Amasiri, in Afikpo North of Ebonyi State. If you call me a music freak, you will be absolutely correct. But please don’t challenge me to a dance competition. My dancing dexterity/moves which I thought was in the class of the late American singer-songwriter, Michael Jackson has since fizzled out due to life issues. Today, I have refused to allow the love for music die despite losing out on the dance floor.

Although I love music, my friend Princess Snips would always tease me that what I call love for music is basically love for gospel music. My only explanation is that being an unrighteous man, I need to daily create an atmosphere of worship both in my office and around my car especially as I head to work daily as I seek God’s mercy for the day at work. I equally seek His mercy during worship over everything that I might be engaged in, including His mercies over my family, the Federal Road Safety Corps where I work and Nigeria as well as over, my little princesses I nicknamed, ‘BED’.

Even as I write, Nathaniel Bassey’s “Ndum bu nke chineke’’; meaning my life belongs to Jesus hundred percent, Satan has no stake in this life is playing in the background. Before then I had enjoyed ‘’My Advocate’’ by Mr M & Revelation music which has helped to lift up my spirit for the week ahead of the Christmas celebrations. But before I bore you to death, please forgive me as my focus is not on my love for music or my faded dexterity on the dance floor but the place of loud music which is my pastime too as a distractor while on the wheels.

I don’t know if you have ever given the thought of loud music as a distractor especially if you are a music freak like me. I know I have written several times on the subject of distracted driving under different headings. My write-ups then focused majorly on the common distracted tendencies such as phoning behind the wheels as well as texting among others. Not once did I write about music.

I know that most road users associate distracted driving with texting or talking on the phone. These users should know that there are legions of behind the wheels activities that fit distracted driving classification. Did you know that listening to loud music can seriously hamper your reaction time and can even cause serious crashes as evidenced by recent research findings.

Did you also know that studies reveal that those who listen to loud music when they drive take up to twenty per cent  longer to perform mental and physical tasks. Did you know that this delayed reaction time can have disturbing consequences when it results in a road traffic crash between two vehicles or a vehicle and a pedestrian or cyclist?

There are a number of studies conducted by respected research institutions on this which I hope to share. For this purpose, we will be relying on studies conducted by RAC Foundation and IAM RoadSmart in the United Kingdom. Both confirmed that listening to loud music is a form of distracted driving. They also confirmed that listening to loud music may be the probable primary cause of many crashes. Let us start with The RAC Foundation. In their study, they found that drivers who were listening to music were twice as likely to  miss a red   light than drivers who were not.

A Canadian research organization equally conducted a study. In its study, it asked volunteers to carry out a variety of tasks while listening to varying levels of noise ranging from 53 to 95 decibels. Their results revealed that the reaction times of the volunteers decreased significantly as the noise increased. Based on these findings, I now understand why a song like Kizz Daniels’, ‘‘Cough’’, or Flavours latest, ‘‘Game Changer ((Dike)’’ has the potential of distracting any lover of good music.

There is, however, a consensus among researchers that certain types of music are not necessarily more dangerous to listen to while driving than others.  Research findings revealed that the speed of a song’s beat does have a significant role in the level of distraction it can cause. Generally, up-tempo music with a pounding beat is more likely to distract a driver.

However, this does not mean that classical music is safer to listen to th?an rock music. In fact, the RAC Foundation’s study revealed that because of its tempo, meter, and total composition, Richard Wagner’s 19th-century romantic piece, “The Ride of the Valkyries” topped the list of the most dangerous songs to listen to while driving. This is because music above 60 beats per minute can cause listeners hearts’ to beat faster and can cause elevated blood pressure. Different types of music aside, these changes can, in turn, make people drive faster without even noticing and significantly reduce reaction times.

I know some will contest these findings. While they spare a thought to internalize these revelations, I need them to know there are consequences for every distracted driving tendencies. Because of their delayed reactions, distracted drivers are some of the most dangerous on the road, as crashes caused by distracted driving tend to occur at high speeds and so result in maximum damage. For this reason, injuries sustained in these types of crashes tend to be particularly devastating and in some cases, tragic. There are other studies with similar concerns. One of such studies claims that drivers who listen to music disrupt the harmony of the road as was found in the case of Britain’s roads.  In a survey commissioned by IAM RoadSmart more than two-thirds of motorists feel that having loud music on while driving can be distracting. The survey sampled the views of 1,004 motorists. Out of these numbers, 69 percent believe that loud music can be distracting when behind the wheel.

More than a third representing 36percent of respondents believe that listening to music while driving has an impact on how fast they drive, while 62percent said that they turn off music when confused or stressed. Despite drivers reporting such issues, 89percent of survey respondents stated they listen to music while driving. Based on these findings, IAM RoadSmart   is worried that ‘millions of UK motorists’ ability to drive is being negatively impacted by music’. This is because distracted drivers and speeding are two of the biggest contributing factors in road collisions and deaths.

Although there are a horde of reasons why these tragic events occur, the survey has shone a light on perhaps a less apparent reason as to why drivers may become distracted or exceed the speed limit. Meanwhile, Department for Transport (DFT) in the United Kingdom data shows that distracted drivers were a contributing factor in 16,333 collisions in 2021 with 3,700 of these distractions coming from inside of the vehicle.  Furthermore, speeding was found to kill or seriously injure 22,130 road users on Britain’s roads in 2021.