Motorists who listen to music while driving could be courting disaster, according to latest research.
A survey of 1004 motorists, commissioned by the UK’s leading independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has revealed that two-thirds (69 per cent) of motorists believe that having loud music on while driving can be distracting.
The survey also revealed that (36 per cent) of motorists believe that listening to music while driving has an impact on how fast they drive.
In fact, two thirds (62 per cent) of respondents said that they turn off music when confused or stressed.
It follows an earlier study earlier this year that suggested the kind of music you listen to while driving could increase the range of an electric vehicle.
IAM RoadSmart is the UK’s largest road safety charity.
It has a vision of a society where all road users can safely and sustainably use the public highways together.
It does this through a range of means including through to the advanced driving and riding tests.
Despite drivers reporting such issues, however, nearly 90 per cent of survey respondents said they listen to music while driving.
This means for millions of motorists music is potentially having a negative impact on their driving.
The findings come in the wake of the Department for Transport’s recent findings which revealed distracted drivers were a contributing factor in 16,333 road incidents in 2021, with 3700 of these distractions coming from inside of the vehicle.
Furthermore, speeding was found to have killed or seriously injured 22,130 road users on Britain’s roads, in 2021 alone.
Director of Policy and Research at IAM RoadSmart, Neil Greig, said: “Distracted drivers and speeding are two of the biggest contributing factors in road collision and deaths.
“While there are a multitude of reasons why these tragic events occur, our survey has shone a light on perhaps a less apparent reason as to why drivers may become distracted or exceed the speed limit.”
CHECKOUT: Bit of Beethoven boosts range
CHECKOUT: 8-track ruled road before the cassette