Getting The Sounds On

Make sure you can hear what's going on.

I love a bit of music when I'm driving. In fact I like a lot of music when I'm behind the wheel. It relaxes me in the traffic jam and it entertains me on those long long stretches where I'm just rolling along. Like everything in driving though it needs to be properly managed. There's a time and a place for everything.

Music can be great when driving but can also be a dangerous distraction. I recall many years ago I was blasting out Korn on the stereo when I noticed other motorists were staring at me. I wondered why. After moving the rear view mirror so I could actually see through it I saw the ambulance behind me with lights flashing. When I turned the music down I could hear the sirens. Not very clever.

Best to keep the volume at a level where you can hear sounds from outside the car. I like to adjust volume according to the situation. If I'm approaching a major roundabout I'll turn it down so I can concentrate and then turn it up again afterwards. If I'm in a built up town area with pedestrians around I'll turn it off altogether.

It annoys me when I'm sitting in a traffic queue and I can hear massive bass blasting out from a car that's three placed behind me. Even worse if the driver has their windows down so we can all benefit from their awesome taste in music. Enjoy your music while you're driving by all means. Just do it responsibly.

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