Safe Speed Forums

What does everyone think about about music/radio when driving? Is it a hazard/distraction that could reduce safety, or is it even beneficial in helping drivers relax? No hidden agenda here, I'm just curious as to what everyone thinks about it. Personally I find it can be a distraction in urban driving and generally restrict it to motorways only, but never like taking the volume to a level where I can no longer hear the engine.

_________________
Why can't we just use Common Sense?

Can't drive without Music!

Guns-n-roses Appetite for destruction one of my favorites for getting me started in the morning. Played very Loud

Track 1 "welcome to the jungle"........'nuff said

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills

Mostly Radio 4 when I'm in the truck, but I occasionally take my minidisc player to work and listen to Tom Waits, Jon Spencer, Julian Cope, Meat Puppets, Gillian Welch, Tricky, Mozart, Sizzla, Eminem, Warren Zevon, Nick Cave... you get the picture. I turn it off if I'm anywhere unfamiliar or if I have to concentrate, and I never like it too loud.

And that's before you get to "Nighttrain"

Here's my Top 10 "enthusiastic" driving tracks:

1. Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
2. Deep Purple - Mad Dog
3. Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
4. Guns'n'Roses - Nighttrain
5. Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine
6. Roxette - Sleepin' in my Car
7. Starship - Jane
8. Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild
9. Neil Young - Rockin' in the Free World
10. ZZ Top - Got Me Under Pressure

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Oh dear.

Umm, seconded. Hip-hop and music are two mutually exclusive categories, IMV

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

As we are all embarassing ourselves in public, when driving, I listen to:

Grateful Dead
Flying Burrito Brothers
Frank Zappa
System of a Down
Captain Beefheart
Queens of the Stone Age
John Cale
Robert Johnson
Cream
Velvet Underground

amongst others

Death alley driver by Rainbow should be avoided, as should the queen song that was used to sell ford cars Vivaldi has a calming effect.

_________________
Why not put on speed limiters we have the technology only idiots break the speed limit

LOL, the classic GTA: San Andreas track. After getting addicted to the game I found myself listening to this track over and over again when driving for real

However, for classic driving tunes how about by Lynryd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama? Gotta be one of the best 'cruising' tunes ever

I still don't like music on when driving in unfamiliar territory though...

_________________
Why can't we just use Common Sense?

I've had this discussion with colleagues before today ...

If I have anything, it tends to be radio 4, but then I wonder if the fact that it uses more of your, ahem, brain power is a good thing?

I tend to get better mpg if I listen to rock music - why? I have no idea.

And Eminem is much maligned - he's the Oscar Wilde of our generation, his lyrics bely a rare intelligence and a healthy sense of humour (and self mocking). The sad fact is that some of his thicko redneck 'fans' do not realise the irony in some of his polemic, and think he really is a misogenistic homophobic racist.

But most of the time I'll just listen to the road / engine noise.

_________________
COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

I don't bother with the radio. Its either BBC 1234 + BBC LOCAL all talking or minority interest music) The BBC own about three-quarters of the frequencies. A total waste. Wogan is well past his sell-by date. Senile radio and classic fm has another 10%.

Local radio is just dross. Same formulae different amateur presenters, way too much talking about complete cobblers.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills

...especially the end bit! dum . . dum-de-dum dum-dum-dum-de-dum dum. . . . . . .
Whatever happened to Murray Walker ? I thought he was brill.

I can't hear the engine in my car whether the ICE is on or not.

As to the volume level, that all depends on what sort of mood I'm in at the time. Sometimes I keep it fairly low, at other times I quite enjoy having my internal organs liquidised by sub sonic frequencies.

_________________
What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I agree with that - and it depends on where I am driving.
The music I have on often reflects the scenery.

Dvorjaks New World Symphony for lakes and mountains, and Rob Dougan's "Clubbed to Death" track for motorways and heavy traffic!!

I have also revisited "The Who" just lately, having downloaded all my favourite tracks, and rediscovered just what a versatile band they were!!
It was triggered by my wifes interest in a TV theme for "CSI" and the "Law and Order" series.
Anyone else have some favourite themes from film and TV?
And is it illegal to have the music up too loud?

_________________
Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I used to have quite loud music on when commuting 10 years ago. Now I have nothing, or music on quiet, or perhaps a podcast.

Anyway - here's a couple of news items I remember:

Loud music can burst your lungs!

Loud music can affect reaction times

I mostly listen to Radio 4 in the car, if there is anything on worth listening to. In fact at the moment there aren't any CDs in the car at all. When there are, they are usually fairly laidback (e.g. JJ Cale, Beth Orton, Lauren Hoffman, Lloyd Cole) rather than anything too heavy. I find that although playing aggressive music doesn't make me drive faster, it does put me in the wrong frame of mind.

Having said that, Paul Merton on Just A Minute did once nearly cause me to have an accident on the M25, I was laughing so much...

But if I am deliberately driving "enthusiastically" rather than just getting from A to B, I prefer not to have anything on the stereo at all.

I find radio much more distracting than music, probably because when I listen to the radio I listen to Radio 5 Live, and when it falls into political discussion I find myself getting angry...

Music however is something that I have always used to block out unnecessary distraction (doing homework to music blocking out the noise of other people in the house), and now 20+ years later I find that the right sort of music helps me focus on the task at hand - I am not really listening to the music, but my concentration on driving is much improved, and also more relaxed (i.e. not stressed rather than falling asleep).

Not too loud and not too quiet though - too quiet and I strain to listen to it over the noise of the car, too loud to hear the car is way too loud, and gives ringing in the ears afterwards. I do however have quite a loud car.

I almost always have music on in the car - I find that I get bored and distracted without. As for music style and volume? Anything goes pretty much depending on my mood.

In the car ATM I have:

Iron Maiden's entire back catalogue on MP3
Another MP3 CD with Slayer, Ministry, Evanescence, Faith No More and Rammstein
G'n'R - Appetite for Destruction
Testament - The Gathering
Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
Ministry of Sound - Trance Nation Elecrica
Wolfmother - Wolfmother, bit like Led Zep meets Sabbath and well worth a listen if you like Zep.

If I HAVE to listen to the radio its Radio 1, but on long motorway trips I like to listen to Classic FM.

There's one or two in there that have to be played so loud that your ears bleed, them's rules, but most of the time I like to be able to hear the engine noise over the toons.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Slayer adds about 5bhp to your car!

That depends which way the speakers are facing...

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.