Drivers warned against loud music
Listening to loud music while driving
can seriously hamper reaction times and cause accidents, new research suggests .
A Canadian study found people took up to 20% longer
to perform physical and mental tasks to loud music .
If motorists were delayed that long at the wheel they could suffer a fatal crash,
warned the RAC Foundation, a British motoring organization .
Edmund King, the RAC Foundation's executive director, said the study showed
that not only is loud music a nuisance to others,
it could also be the cause of accidents .
Earlier research by the RAC Foundation found
drivers were twice as likely to skip a red light while listening to music .
In the Canadian study volunteers carried out tasks while listening to levels of noise
varying from 53 decibels (equivalent to an office environment)
to 95 decibels (equivalent to an oil rig) .
Researchers found reactions to be significantly decreased at higher noise levels for both physical and mental work .
At 95 decibels reaction times to tasks that involve decision making plummeted by 20%.