Chauffeur Advice: Is Music in the Car Distracted Driving?

Many people think that texting on a cellphone is the biggest distraction while driving. According to experts, the leading cause of distracted driving is actually music. Unfortunately, distracted driving has become extremely serious, having injured 421,000 drivers in the U.S. in 2012 alone. That same year, more than 3,300 distracted drivers from music lost their lives. Our chauffeurs are professionally trained and offer some sage chauffeur advice:

Specific Dangers

A major problem with music has to do with changing the dials on the radio. This action can require you to move your eyes from the road to the radio and remove at least one hand from the steering wheel. This reduces reaction time, which in turn increases the risk of having an accident. Although some vehicles offer radio controls on the steering wheel and through voice recognition, to use them, you are still diverting some of your attention from the road.

Another danger has to do with the radio programs. For example, regardless if you listen to the weather station, a talk radio show, or music, there is a level of cognitive distraction. In this case, the focus of the mind shifts to the radio program instead of the road. Again, this dramatically increases the risk of being in an accident.

Because music while driving is an auditory distraction, you will have a more difficult time hearing approaching emergency vehicles, other drivers honking their horns, and other sounds imperative to safe driving.

Avoiding Distractions

According to some of the top chauffeurs in the country, who spend hours upon hours on the road, you can make some changes to make music less distractive.

• Volume – If you are going to listen to a radio program or music while driving, keep the volume low enough that you can hear things going on around you.

• Channel Adjustments – Find one station to listen to and do not make changes to the radio dial until stopping.

• Searching – If your vehicle does not have preset buttons, it will help if you use the seek button rather than the knob to find stations. That way, you spend less time having just one hand on the steering wheel.

• CD or Playlist – Instead of listening to the radio, consider a CD or playlist on your connected device. This way, there is no need to change the dial or search for new songs.

Using Limousine Services

If you enjoy listening to music while on the road, you can always hire limo services. That way, you are free to mess with a radio without worrying about any dangers of driving.