The Rhythm of Life

Whether it’s Mozart or Motorhead, Sibelius or the Scissor Sisters, over loud fast music with pulsating rhythms can wreck your concentration when driving and double the risk of an accident says road safety champion GEM Motoring Assist (GEM) - while slower music has a calming effect.

The theory is propounded by driving instructor and GEM member Audrey Wixon who tested her proposal that ‘beat could lead to a bang’ on pupils just coming up to taking their driving test.

She said: “Being able to hear is an important factor in driving as is being able to concentrate. The root cause of many accidents is a driver’s failure to pay attention and research has shown that loud music depletes concentration by 20%.

“If a song is above 60 beats per minute it will cause your heart rate and blood pressure to rise.”

She said she believed that up-tempo music also makes you want to drive faster. “That’s a tendency I have noticed in myself,” she said.

To prove her point she prepared a tape with fast and slow tracks on it and tested it out on her pupils. “When slow music was on the pupil would drive perfectly, but shot off like the Meatloaf’s ‘Bat out of Hell’ when the fast track came on and yet seemed unaware of the increase in speed.”

She said that the car engine was also being overstressed in a low gear because the driver could not hear it roaring.

She said that with loud fast music played through giant speakers the driver would not be able to hear a horn or an emergency vehicle approaching.

“Keep the music at a reasonable level and choose a calming number,” is her recommendation for safer and incident free driving.

GEM Motoring Assist, formerly known as the Guild of Experienced Motorists, has been working for the safety of all road users for 75 years. It produces free road safety booklets, campaigns, supports research and rewards those that work for a safer environment. It also provides a variety of services for its 65,000 members. For more details go to motoringassist.com.