Speed kills. But it is not only the speed at which people drive
that is the problem: the speed of the music they are listening to also
has a hand in their fate. An Israeli researcher says drivers who listen to
fast music in their cars may have more than twice as many accidents as those listening to slower tracks.
With the car now the place where people most often listen to music, the research is worrying.
While previous studies have shown a link between loud music and dangerous driving, Warren Brodsky
at Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, wondered if tempo had any effect on driver behavior. To find
out, he put a group of 28 students through their paces on driving simulator.
Each student drove round the virtual streets of Chicago while listening to different pieces of
music, or none at all. The students had an average of seven years’ driving experience.
Brodsky chose music with a variety of styles, ranging from laid-back George Benson ballads to
the ultra-fast numbers beloved of clubbers. The tempo ranged from a slow 60 beats per minute up to
a fast and furious 120 beats per minute or more. All the music was played relatively loudly to maximize
its effect.
As the tempo increased, Brodsky found drivers ran more risks, such as jumping red lights, and
had more accidents. When listening to up-tempo pieces, they were twice as likely to jump a red light
as those who were not listening to music. And drivers had more than twice as many accidents when
they were listened to slow or medium-paced numbers. Brodsky concedes that behavior on a simulator
Speed kills. But it is not only the speed at which people drive
that is the problem: the speed of the music they are listening to also
has a hand in their fate. An Israeli researcher says drivers who listen to
fast music in their cars may have more than twice as many accidents as those listening to slower tracks.
With the car now the place where people most often listen to music, the research is worrying.
While previous studies have shown a link between loud music and dangerous driving, Warren Brodsky
at Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, wondered if tempo had any effect on driver behavior. To find
out, he put a group of 28 students through their paces on driving simulator.
Each student drove round the virtual streets of Chicago while listening to different pieces of
music, or none at all. The students had an average of seven years’ driving experience.
Brodsky chose music with a variety of styles, ranging from laid-back George Benson ballads to
the ultra-fast numbers beloved of clubbers. The tempo ranged from a slow 60 beats per minute up to
a fast and furious 120 beats per minute or more. All the music was played relatively loudly to maximize
its effect.
As the tempo increased, Brodsky found drivers ran more risks, such as jumping red lights, and
had more accidents. When listening to up-tempo pieces, they were twice as likely to jump a red light
as those who were not listening to music. And drivers had more than twice as many accidents when
they were listened to slow or medium-paced numbers. Brodsky concedes that behavior on a simulator
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