More than two-thirds of motorists feel that having loud music on while driving can be distracting.
That’s according to the findings of a survey, commissioned by IAM RoadSmart.
The survey sampled the views of 1,004 motorists – with 69% believing loud music can be distracting when behind the wheel.
More than a third (36%) of respondents believe that listening to music while driving has an impact on how fast they drive, while 62% said that they turn off music when confused or stressed.
Despite drivers reporting such issues, 89% of survey respondents stated they listen to music while driving – leading IAM RoadSmart to express fears that ‘millions of UK motorists’ ability to drive is being negatively impacted by music’.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, said: “Distracted drivers and speeding are two of the biggest contributing factors in road collisions 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.”
The findings come in the wake of the DfT data which shows that distracted drivers were a contributing factor in 16,333 collisions in 2021 – with 3,700 of these distractions coming from inside of the vehicle.
Furthermore, speeding was found to kill or seriously injure 22,130 road users on Britain’s roads in 2021.
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