Summery:
    What I got out of this E-mail exchange was that music or lack of music definitely has an effect on us as humans and therefore how we drive.  There are three perspectives that I found from this posting.  First there was the support for the theory that music does influence our driving. Then are the positive aspects of music, the negative aspects of music on driving.

    Does Music effect our driving?
    There are proponents to both sides.  Though it heavily leans to the side that agrees that music does affect our driving there were a few comments that suggest music does not effect us while driving.

     Positive
    Some participants of this e-mail discussion state their opinion that they believe listening to music benefits them in their driving.  They take the stand that if loud, fast music will help cause you to drive fast and/or more aggressive, then just the opposite will be true for slow, mellow music .

     Negative
    Other take the side that music increases their aggressiveness while driving.  For instance, Mr.Sasabe blames both of his speeding tickets on his listening to music which he claims distracted him from his driving.

    The main issues that I came across in this exchange were music's effect on our concentration, music's increase or decrease of our aggressiveness.

    My reaction to these idea's is mixed.  I think that music's affect varies according to individual differences: therefore, it is not possible to say its either negative or positive.  Its just the individuals reaction to music.
    For myself I know how music affects me.  Fast music will increase my tendency to drive fast and possible more aggressive, but at the same time I am a much more content driver if I have music in my car.  In other words I am much more polite and easy-going if there is some music while I'm driving.  Its when I do not have music that I become frustrated and then turn my aggressions out-ward on other drivers.
    As a young child and in high school, I went through many long commutes.  There would be lots of us in one van or car, late in the day, after a long day at school and practice.  It was hard to keep a good attitude in this situation, but music seemed to help us.  Either there would be songs that we all enjoyed, or some familiar mellow music that would put us to sleep.  I think this could be a large reason for my interest in music in the car today.
    I can honest say that I would not consider owning a car without some form of music.  If I did buy a car without a stereo, it would not be very long before I installed one.

Nakagawa

Internet Findings
 
    What I found on the web was mostly advertisements.  The majority of my search was learning
about new cars and stereo products for cars.  Thought it was interesting it was not what I was looking for.
    There was one site that talked about driving laws and they were very against the laws restricting
music levels for individuals cars.  They had a biased point of view because of the fact they were against
most any law related to driving including speed limits, type of car and exhaust restrictions.

    Hands On Music, Inc.  This site provides a new theory on music for the automobile and its
close quarters.  It is a company that is going to specialize in making driving music (music
that will sound especially good in cars).

The CSS Engine provided me with many reports that had topics on music and driving. However,
the reports that were provided were not only on music and driving, but I was able to find 1 report
that had information I was searching for.

REPORT #1
Braden Kato from Generation 2
In his report, Braden briefly discusses how music can affect driving behavior. He states that some
people tend to drive more aggressively while listening to heavy metal music. Whereas easy listening
music tend to be more relaxing for most drivers. He also states that a person's driving personality
could be synonymous with their driving style. Moreover, a person's driving personality is affected
by different elements, and no two driving experiences are alike.

The Three Step Program to Regain Control at the Wheel According to Dr. Driving:
  adamant that you are out of control
  witness yourself being out of control
  modify your driving personality one step at a time

Rothe
    The Rothe text from Psychology 459 did not tell me much.  The main idea was just to be aware and be careful when driving.  Music did fall under on aspect for thing that can disrupt the driver.  The author mainly suggest being aware of the effects of music while driving and then make the proper adjustments.

References
Barbara E. Schmidt, Charles P. Listeners' Response to Music as a Function of
Personality Type. Journal of Research in Music Education; v39 n4 p311-21 Win 1991.

Ballard, Mary E.,Coates, Steven. The Immediate Effects of Homicidal, Suicidal, and
Nonviolent Heavy Metal and Rap Songs on the Moods of College Students. Youth &
Society; v27 n2 p148-68 Dec 1995 .

Catton. Aspects we do not see in Driving. Changing Societies. v2 198-199 1992

Farrow, J.A. Driving While Intoxicated. Journal of alcohol and Drug Education. v34 n2 p21-32
Win 1988

Jakobovits, L.A. Repetition of auditorily presented information. Psychological Reports, 1965, 17,
785-86.

Lehtonen, Kimmo; Shaughnessy, Michael F.. Music as a Treatment Channel of Adolescent
Destructivity.  Video 1994
 
Lester, David; Whipple, Melissa. Music Preference, Depression, Suicidal
Preoccupation, and Personality: Comment on Stack and Gundlach's Papers. Suicide and
Life Threatening Behavior; v26 n1 p68-70 Spr 1996 .

Miller, Marilyn A. The Effects of Music Videos on Adolescent Meaning Construction
and Attitudes toward Physical Violence as a Method of Conflict Resolution.

Strasburger, Victor. Adolescents and the Media: Medical and Psychological Impact. Developmental
Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry. v33

Wass, Hannelore. Adolescent and destructive Themes in Rock Music. omega: Journal of Death
and Dying, v23 n3 pp199-206 1991
 

Student Comparison
      Most other students did not do this report because it was rather long and had many parts.  The student s reports that I did look at were all good and some of them made me want to do a different one.  This was my hardest part of this class and it took by far the longest.
 

Conclusion
    In my opinion it the responsibility of each person to know and understand how music all aspects
of driving effect themselves.  This includes music.  I think its up to the individual to know how different
kind of music could influence their driving.
    I doubt that many people have taken music's influence on their driving, seriously.  I think this show that there are very many aspects of driving that have to be taken into consideration when you are behind the wheel.  I am sure that many people take for granted the many of factors that we face while driving.