Mr. Sasabe is clearly expressing that he is a better driver without any music while he drives. Furthermore, he also mentioned that because of music listening he was caught twice for speeding. In Mr. Sasabe's point of view, a person can be a better driver when he/she is not listening to music. I also have assumed that music can get a driver in trouble because of the effect it has on them. Mr. Sasabe, in my opinion, clearly is against the combination of music and driving.
Mr. Miyoshi also had similar points of view in that of Mr. Sasabe but he opened up another possibility that leads drivers to be aggressive. In addition to music getting drivers into trouble with the law, Mr. Miyoshi also mentioned that it depends on what kind of music a person is listening to. He pointed out that rock music make our hearts beat faster and that might get the adrenaline flowing which may lead drivers to lose control of themselves. Similar to Mr. Sasabe, Mr. Miyoshi also agree that driving without music can be relaxing and can make a driver be more calm and relax on the road. He added further that it is also the radio stations and the DJs that affects our state of mind when we drive. DJs and Radio stations affects people on the their driving when the DJs of a certain radio station go against an individuals values or beliefs which may lead to aggressive driving. Mr. Miyoshi also stated that music and driving could go both ways because some people are not affected if the views don?t go against an individual value totally or doesn't totally affect you at all.
From the viewpoints of Mr. Shintani, music can lead to aggressive behavior but not all of it. Mr. Shintani mentioned that when he wants to drive fast he listens to music with fast and powerful beat. He also stated that studies have proven that playing classical music in the mall have reduces the amount of violence in it because it helps people relax and mellow. Mr. Shintani believes that this could as well work on the road.
Brian Haimerman, a web visitor wrote in November 1997 to express his gratitude for Mr. Shintani and Dr. James. According to Mr. Haimerman, music especially rock and roll directly affects our heart beatings. He added that it is the loudness and the beat of the music that affects our hearts and that the fast heartbeats make our blood rise. He also mentioned that he is currently taking a class concerning the history of rock and roll and has learned about the effect of rock music in our psyche.
Ms. Evert approached the problem with her own experience. According to Ms. Evert, she drives with loud, fast-paced and "singable" music. However Ms. Evert stated that she is usually getting past by the other drivers and only go ten miles per hour beyond the speed limit. Furthermore, Ms. Evert even mentioned that slow music makes her sleepy.
Ms. Ford agrees with Mr. Shintani on her email. She said that she swears on the road when she drives. However, since she started listening to melodious tapes, she is calmer and even said in her letter that listening to classical music "seems to work."
Ms. Hishimoto expressed her feelings about music and driving by responding to Marshall's email. I don't know who Marshall is but it looked to me like Ms. Hishimoto disagreed with him. According to Ms. Hishimoto, music helps her relax while driving and prevent her from getting frustrated by other drivers who drives carelessly. Ms. Hishimoto stated that music is an awesome way for her to relax and drive at the same time.
Mr. Burlem, on the other hand, disagrees with ms. Hishimoto. According to Mr. Burlem, turning off the radio while he drives enables him to relax when he is in an uptight mood. Mr. Burlem mentioned that he is able to concentrate more on his driving when the radio is off. Mr. Burlem added that listening to music makes him more irritated when he is already in an uptight mood.
Mr. Lee seemed to be on the neutral sides of how music affects drivers. Mr. Lee stated that the kind of music we listened to plays a big role in how we drive especially during rush hour. Mr. Lee stated that he is fortunate of living in town because he doesn't have to deal with any traffic obstacles at all. Mr. Lee gave a theory that when his friend or in this case any person listens to their favorite music, they don't notice the traffic as much, and time passes by more quickly.
All of these email postings talk about how music affects the way they drive. Most people like Mr. Shintani, Mr. Sasabe, and Mr. Burlem agree that turning off the radio or listening to classical music instead makes them more relax and calm while they drive on the road. On the other hand, there were people like Ms. Hishimoto and Ms. Evert who doesn't agree with what the others are saying about music. For these two ladies, music helps them improve and be alert on their driving.
I feel that it really depends on your points of view. Based on my experience, music does not affect me at all when I drive. However, in some cases, music has helped me to be alert while I drive. I find it hard to agree with Mr. Sasabe and the other people who agreed with him that turning off the radio can make a person a better driver. I feel that it actually makes me more sleepy and bored if I turn off the radio while I drive. It also makes me to be easily frustrated at others when there is no music while I drive. Like Ms. Evert, I often find myself listening to fast paced music while I drive but I rarely find myself going beyond the speed limit by ten miles per hour or more. In my case and Ms. Evert's case, we find hard to believe that music negatively affects the way we drive because we have not experienced any negative effects that music have while we drive. In my point of view, some people are making music as their scapegoats to escape the harsh reality that it is really them and not the effects of the music that got them into trouble.
When I was a little child, I already am fond of music because it somehow gives me more energy to do the tasks that I need to do. I remember crying when my mom or dad turns the car radio off especially when my favorite song was being played. When I first had my chance to drive a car always blasted the radio to the point where no one can even hear me or anybody in my car speak. I love listening to music up to now while I drive because I feel that I have more energy. I not only listen to music in the car but also whenever I do my homework, while I workout at the fitness center and while I am using the bathroom.
I think music and driving for me is a perfect combination. I can confidently say that I will continue to listen to music of any kind as long as I live and drive. Music is already a part of my life and without it, my life is not complete.
Exploring through the web trying to find similar topics of music and driving was a very unfortunate experience for me. The reason is because I have search over the net for two consecutive days and have found nothing about music and driving. However when I went to Dr. James CSS Engine and Site Indexes I found some information that would be useful in dealing with the problem of music and driving. The Oahu Traffic Safety Council Traffic Psychology Handout is one of the good example that can help people to deal with music and driving. The handout actually gives the reader some interesting tips on driving while listening to the radio. I find message number ten because it ask, "Hi there driver. Is your radio too loud? Have a heart. Fill it with love for your neighbor." Message number ten first gives a friendly greeting and ask the driver a question and finally gives an advice to be considerate of others. I do find drivers who drive with loud music annoying and irritating especially early in the morning. I feel that these drivers are inconsiderate and don't respect other people's right to have a quiet time of driving. Drivers with loud music on their cars should remember that they are not the only ones who are driving on the road
The book mentioned in chapter fourteen that Randy, one of the truckers who was interviewed by Rothe, uses the radio to keep their mind from wandering and/or to stop fatigue from setting in. Based on my own experience, I sometimes mind wandering off while I drive if I don't turn the radio on. I also have noticed that I am more relax when I drive with the radio on and I am able to tolerate some of the careless drivers. Like Randy and the other truckers, I find music to be the best line of defense from mind wandering and fatigue.
I was hoping to find articles, journals of any sorts dealing with music and driving however it was very unfortunate because I end up empty-handed after browsing and looking for articles, books and journals dealing with music and driving when I used the ERIC and/or Uncover databases. There were a lot of topics discussed in regards to music but it is not associated with driving.
George Pederson also did a report on how music affects drivers. To my knowledge he did an excellent job in his report where he related some of his topic on his personal experiences and also gave his thoughts and feelings about what the email postings of G7 students. I liked the way George did his report because it was neat and very organized. Somehow I thought that George's approach was similar to mines but I stay uncorrected because I usually am not good in comparing reports.
Dawn Stone-Webb's report was also similar to my report. However, I have noticed that she went into every detail in discussing every G7 email posting and expressing her thoughts and feelings about each G7 students reaction to the topic. I really enjoyed exploring her report because it is very informative and the page itself looked wonderful.
Doing this report was a very good experience for me. Not only did I gain a lot of information about music and driving but I also have seen other student's express their point of views about the music and driving. I have explored the past generations and took notes on every bit of information that I could get. Future generations, in my opinion can benefit from my report by exploring it and examining my thoughts and feelings about the subject matter. As always, future generations could do a better job by doing this report ahead of time and consulting Dr. James if any problem in doing this report arises. One of the most important things that I can suggest is to do this report without getting stressed out and pressured. Try to always be calm, relax and most of all have fun.