Driving can get boring, and people will go to great lengths to ease that boredom. A lot of distracted driving accidents happen because someone is intentionally trying to take his or her mind off of driving — perhaps by talking on the phone or sending a text — even though that is exactly what causes car accidents.
Probably the most widely accepted distraction is simply turning up the music. Many people do not think it’s dangerous at all. Most people do it. In fact, studies have found that around 90 percent of people listen to music while they drive. When is the last time you drove in silence? It’s probably hard to come up with one.
The problem here is that music is still a distraction. It makes it harder to hear traffic and road noise. It takes your mind off of driving. Some people sing along, which can be even more distracting.
Loud music is particularly dangerous, especially if it’s an “aggressive” style of music. Scientists in one study looked at the impact of listening to music turned up over 95 decibels, and they found that drivers’ reaction times plummeted by a full 20 percent.
That can absolutely be the difference between stopping for a red light and accidentally running it, or the difference between stopping at the back of a traffic jam or rear-ending the next car in the lane.
Nine out of 10 drivers listen to music behind the wheel. If you get hit by one of these distracted drivers, make sure that you understand all of your legal rights to compensation.
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