Did you know that the music you play while you’re driving could be dangerous and distracting? It’s true. While we used to understand that the physical act of taking our eyes and attention off the road to change the radio station or CD or even just to click ‘next’ is a common causes of car accidents, it seems that that’s not the only danger.

Newer research has revealed that there are risks to playing music while you’re in the driver’s seat. It turns out that the actual volume and tempo of your tunes can impact your driving behaviour. Namely, what you listen to could cause speeding, violations, aggressive driving, and an increase in the frequency of driving miscalculations and inaccuracies.

Seeing as we’re in midst of the silly season (a time of the year that’s notorious for the increase in the number of car accidents happening on our roads) we thought this would be the opportune moment to share some advice on the matter.

Don’t play your music too loud

Research from various universities has demonstrated that loud music can prevent you from hearing what’s happening around you, like sirens, horns honking, and even the sound of your own indicator. We’re talking about music that’s louder than 95 decibels, in case you were wondering.

The reality is that playing your music too loud could impair your hearing and distract you from what’s happening on the road, all of which results in you being slower to respond to unexpected or emergency situations. Like a pedestrian running out suddenly or the car in front braking sharply.

Don’t play music that’s too fast

Ah yes, tempo. The essential component of the happier music that you’d think would uplift your mood and fill you with joy as you make your commute… And we’re sure that it does bring a smile to your face, however, recent research shows that faster paced music can cause you to take more risks, like making sudden lane changes, running red lights, and driving faster than usual.

This would be, just in case you were going to start measuring the beats per minute (bmp) of your favourite tunes, music that comes in at around 120bpm.

Practice mindfulness while driving

The festive season is wonderful. Truly, it is. But it’s also very loud and very busy. Sometimes, getting in your car is your only time to turn off all the competing sounds and tune into the road so that you can focus on the task at hand, in blissful peace and quiet.

If you’re still eager to play something in the background (some of us don’t love the silence) then we suggest that you opt for soft, uplifting, and slower paced tracks. This way you can still drive with all the vigilence required to dodge an accident and keep you and your car out of harm’s way.

Something else that you should consider is cutting down on your costs while remaining responsible. We’re referring to your car insurance, which is the right thing to have in place, especially during this dangerous time of year. This is easily achieved by switching to comprehensive car insurance that gets cheaper every month. The way it works with 1 particular policy from a South African insurer making waves in the insurance industry, is that your premiums will decrease every single month, in line with the depreciation of the value of your car.

It’s a strange, yet simple approach to car insurance. To get a quote and give your finances a festive gift of cheaper car insurance, click here.

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