November 16

Do Fast Cars and Loud Speakers Cause Drivers to Speed or Get into More Accidents?

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Car crashes are scary to the victims, and they happen more than they should.

Actually, it would be true to say that most car accidents and deaths can be avoided by simply observing safe driving practices. Car crashes can be caused by a number of things including distractions such as texting, driving under the influence, bad weather and speeding.

In this article, we will have a look at the relationship between speeding and loud music and car accidents.

The high price of speeding

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), speeding is the second cause of road accidents after drunk driving, but it is the leading cause of fatal accidents on the American road. According to a study the distracted driving statistics, speeding accounted for 31% of all traffic fatalities.

Driving under the influence and speeding have a lot in common because if they both cause an accident a person in the car or near it will either be killed or they will be seriously injured. Below are some reasons speeding can be fatal.

1. Reaction time and braking distance

Reaction time is the time it takes the driver to perceive danger and react to it. When driving at a high speed and one perceived danger, they will try and break. But the speeding car will move a longer distance before it comes to a halt when compared to a car that was relatively slower. And even though the difference is only a meter it can be the difference between life and death.

The breaking distance will be influenced by a number of other variables such as the road of the slope. The braking distance will be shorter if the car is going uphill than when it is going downhill. And as explained before a car at a higher speed will have a longer breaking distance.

2. Less control

Cars traveling at a high speed are less difficult to control. Because of inertia according to Newton’s first law of motion, it will keep the car moving when the vehicle comes to a sudden stop. When maneuvering a bend at a high speed, there are higher chances of an uncontrolled skid.

Also, driving at high speed increases the potential of a driver error of over steering or under steering which could lead to a deadly car accident. All the factors discussed above increase the risk of being in an accident. The risk is even higher when you are speeding.

The connection between loud music and car accidents

While using your phone while driving has been known to have disastrous consequences, listening to loud music while driving can have a hazardous influence on your driving as a study discovered. Fiddling with the volume and trying to skip songs can divert ones attention from the road but loud music can influence one’s ability to focus on driving.

Loud music can prevent the driver from hearing the audio cues around them such as horns and sirens. It can also distract them from seeing visual signs. Loud music will not only affect the drivers hearing, but it will also affect their concentration because by listening to loud music the brain is forced to focus on two simultaneous activities.

However, the brain does not multitask but rather shuffles rapidly between the two tasks and hence decrease the drivers focus or concentration on each of the two tasks.

According to a study, loud music can increase aggressive driving, unsafe lane changes and speeding, especially among teens. These can increase the likelihood of causing a fatal car accident. Loud music can be classified as a distraction which could lead to dangerous driving.

Other than causing distractions, the kind of music you listen to in the car can inspire happy or sad feelings, nostalgia or high energy toe tapping. It might sound odd but if you are playing a song that you do not like it will put the driver in a bad mood. Also listening to music with a fast tempo will encourage you to speed.

This can easily cause a distraction when a person is driving, and this increases their chance of being involved in a car accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distractions cause more than a quarter of the 1.2 million car accidents on the American roads. The music a person listens to can inspire feelings of either negative or positive emotions that could lead to a person day dreaming distracting them from their driving resulting in a car accident.

Music can be a great tool to prevent you from getting bored during a monotonous traffic jam. But research has shown loud music may be good for more experienced drivers it might have a distracting effect in younger and inexperienced drivers.

Final Words

In conclusion, as we have seen above from studies and research, speeding and listening to loud music can be dangerous and can lead to loss of life. To mitigate this risk, drivers are urged to drive within the speed limit at all times and to stay alert. Blasting loud music in the car can also lead to a car accident especially among inexperienced.

Therefore, keep the music at a reasonable volume that will allow you to hear a horn or a siren. Actually in some states, playing loud music in the car while driving has been banned and you could be charged according to their law.


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