If you love music, you probably can't fathom driving without it. Whether you're popping in a CD, plugging in your phone, or dialing in on the radio, you are going to find a way to listen to music while you drive. And while many of us might put a lot of thought into our road trip playlists, we don't always think about how music can affect our driving.
There are many things that can affect our mood. Cloud covered skies might make us gloomy, and a case of the sniffles might make us irritable. Music can also have a strong effect on our moods. If you want to relax and unwind you probably won't listen to death metal, and if you're working out you probably don't hit play on your lullaby playlist.
Our mood influences our actions. If you're feeling grumpy, you might ignore a passing stranger who says, “Good morning!”. However if you’re feeling happy, you might be the one wishing good morning to strangers. Of course, our actions aren't entirely dictated by how we are feeling -- we have more self-control than that - but moods definitely affect how we might be inclined to respond to something.
Since music can affect our mood, and our mood can affect how we do things; it’s not a leap to say that music has the potential to influence how we drive. If you're blasting some up-tempo music, you might be more inclined to drive faster or more aggressively than if you were listening to low-tempo music.
That's not to say that listening to “Crazy Train” will make you speed, or that listening to “Claire de Lune” will make you a safer driver, but the type of music can influence how you choose to react. A soothing song might make you forget about the driver who cut you off, whereas and intense tune might cause you to lose it when you’re being tailgated.
The studies on the matter have been conflicting. Some say that music can greatly affect your ability to drive and increase the chances of getting into an accident, while other studies show that music has little affect on a person’s ability to drive.
While music might not determine how you drive, there are some things that come with listening to music that can make driving more dangerous.
It's unsafe to have your music turned up too loud. People don’t just honk to be obnoxious. Car horns are designed to warn drivers of danger, and you need to be able to hear emergency vehicles.
Selecting songs while driving can also be dangerous, especially with the advent of smartphones. Instead of searching for a song, set up a playlist so you can keep your eyes on the road.
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