Driving is one task that should be free of any distractions to avoid any accidents. However, there are still people who are not putting 100% of their attention into the task.
Some are texting, shaving, brushing their mouths, drinking beer, and wearing headphones all while driving. Although listening to music while driving is not exactly harmful, wearing headphones is a different matter.
In some places, it is even considered illegal. But even in those areas where wearing headphones are not illegal, it is still not advisable to avoid any accidents.
To understand further the effects of wearing headphones while driving, American star company Ford has conducted a study in Europe to quantify its adverse effects. They announced the results of their study on Wednesday in a video posted on YouTube.
Driving With Headphones Messes With Spatial Recognition, Ford Study Finds
8D Audio in Testing Spatial Recognition
Road Show reported that Ford's study included an application that plays an 8D audio that creates a realistic environment while driving through controlled panning and equalization.
The 8D audio is used alongside a virtual reality street to create sounds that participants were asked to identify. These sounds include an ambulance approaching from behind.
There are two groups in the experiment, one with no headphones and another with headphones on playing music while driving.
Ford researchers found that those with headphones on listening to music were 4.2 seconds slower than those not wearing headphones.
That amount of time may not be much but it could mean an eternity between crashing into some other cars or avoiding them. In other words, it could be the time between life and death either the driver or a pedestrian.
After the experiment, 44% of the 2,000 participants said that they would not wear headphones or earbuds anymore while driving a vehicle. It is a huge step towards having a safer road where drivers are more aware of their surroundings.
Ford has announced that they will be making the app available to everyone so the public could try it out for themselves and hopefully will also change their minds about wearing headphones while driving.
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Dangers of Wearing Headphones While Driving
Staver Accident Injury Lawyers P.C. has enumerated some of the dangers of wearing headphones while driving. This includes being unable to hear traffic sounds that decrease a driver's spatial recognition ability.
Moreover, they also mentioned that it could cause a distraction to the drivers that decrease their attentiveness while driving. The CDC said that nine people die every day because of distracted driving.
Distractions include the visual, manual, and cognitive types. These distractions force drivers to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, especially when they try to change the song playing.
Additionally, drivers could easily neglect to notice a traffic signal when they drive with headphones on. This might lead to a dangerous car accident.
RELATED ARTICLE: Listening to Music While Driving Helps Young Drivers to Concentrate on Traffic, Road Conditions [Study]
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