Radio Questions/audio Questions

[W. WIllie]

From a "Environment and Traffic Psychologist" and at "GROAN" university.

Really? I wonder how much "grant money" he/she got for that?

 

[Grumpy Cat]

From a "Environment and Traffic Psychologist" and at "GROAN" university.

Really? I wonder how much "grant money" he/she got for that?

http://www.apa.org/research/action/drive.aspx

In one study, when drivers talked on a cell phone, their reactions to imperative events (such as braking for a traffic light or a decelerating vehicle) were significantly slower than when they were not talking on the cell phone. Sometimes, drivers were so impaired that they were involved in a traffic accident. Listening to the radio or books on tape did not impair driving performance, suggesting that listening per se is not enough to interfere. However, being involved in a conversation takes attention away from the ability to process information about the driving environment well enough to safely operate a motor vehicle.

I don't know about you, but when I'm driving, I need something to engage my brain when the drone of the road/engine noise puts me to sleep.

 

[Coss]

These are the point that stood out for me:
1) Experienced motorists between 25 and 35 years of age are perfectly capable of focusing on the road while listening to music or the radio, even when driving in busy urban traffic.
2) I could imagine that music might be too distracting while you're just learning to drive.
3) And at the other end of the scale, people's cognitive capacities diminish as they get older so I'm curious to know how they react to the mental demands of driving at the same time as the listening to music.'

And I can understand why; 25-35 you're good at multi-tasking, and younger and it's all new to you; but try to incorporate everything they learned about driving and you over-do things (some times) other times you don't want to make mistakes; so your brain has to check out to let it rest. Older, you think you have driving down to second nature, but you're mistaken; there is still a degree of learning taking place and assessment that you have to take in.
Basically it still come down to doing what your comfortable with; for some music is still interesting, for others, you don't like what's playing and rather than looking for something you like, it's just as easy to turn it off.

 

[W. WIllie]

Now that I'm in the antique group (75+), I am more cautious and more observant of other traffic around me. The youngest generation seem to have less than that, almost tunnel vision.
I also am a gauge watcher, as I have installed other gauges that are not available with the car. I am also listening for any little noise from the engine or vehicle that may not be "normal" and leave me stranded.
I try not to be a burden on other drivers.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Now that I'm in the antique group (75+), I am more cautious and more observant of other traffic around me. The youngest generation seem to have less than that, almost tunnel vision.
I also am a gauge watcher, as I have installed other gauges that are not available with the car. I am also listening for any little noise from the engine or vehicle that may not be "normal" and leave me stranded.
I try not to be a burden on other drivers.

There is a difference between listening to music and blasting it. I'm at the point in life when having good sound music at a reasonable volume helps my brain. If it is too quiet, my brain gets lulled into complacency and will disengage and fall asleep. If it is too loud, my ears hurt.

This goes across all demographics, but more so the younger crowd, where they are looking down at their lap, often times watching a video... It is no wonder insurance rates are going up with all drivers.

 

[Paul DeCrans]

Now that I'm in the antique group (75+), I am more cautious and more observant of other traffic around me. The youngest generation seem to have less than that, almost tunnel vision.
I also am a gauge watcher, as I have installed other gauges that are not available with the car. I am also listening for any little noise from the engine or vehicle that may not be "normal" and leave me stranded.
I try not to be a burden on other drivers.

I would argue that constant "gauge watching" is more distractive than listening to music. especially with the amount of things available to monitor have grown with newer technology

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I would argue that constant "gauge watching" is more distractive than listening to music. especially with the amount of things available to monitor have grown with newer technology

Yup, watching the gauges is not watching the road.

 

[bighammer]

I've heard a 78/21 percent mixture of pure nitrogen and pure oxygen will keep your tires inflated, too. Don't know about the other 1 percent. I guess you could just mix in some air to make it 100 percent.

Clever marketing gets people to pay extra for "special" air. My tires are special and deserve the best. No impurities!

 

[bighammer]

The dangerous distraction in new cars is the technology. I love my old truck because without taking my eyes from the road, I can adjust the fan speed, temperature, or where it's blowing BY FEEL. Most new cars have an electronic control panel that have to look at to operate it. Scrolling thru modes, searching for buttons, or bumping temp up or down 1° at a time just seems like a big step backward to me.

My Elio sound system came in a box months ago. I'm getting lots of use from my MTX headphones. They turn just about any vehicle into a sound studio. I've got about 3 months of music on iTunes, so I could go 24/7 for the summer and not have any repeats.

 

[McBrew]

The dangerous distraction in new cars is the technology. I love my old truck because without taking my eyes from the road, I can adjust the fan speed, temperature, or where it's blowing BY FEEL. Most new cars have an electronic control panel that have to look at to operate it. Scrolling thru modes, searching for buttons, or bumping temp up or down 1° at a time just seems like a big step backward to me.

My Elio sound system came in a box months ago. I'm getting lots of use from my MTX headphones. They turn just about any vehicle into a sound studio. I've got about 3 months of music on iTunes, so I could go 24/7 for the summer and not have any repeats.

I will argue one point -- automatic climate control should result in the driver needing to look at the controls less often. Like the thermostat on your wall at home, you just set it at the temperature you want and it should keep it there.

My wife's car has a manual climate control. What's worse, there is a control for the front and a control for the rear. When driving her car, I am constantly turning the temperature up or down, as well as the fan speed.


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