A bill is working its way through the Florida legislature to increase the penalties for increasingly loud car stereos. Currently, Florida law prevents anyone from playing a car stereo at a volume "so that the sound is plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet or more from the motor vehicle" or "louder than necessary for the convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle in areas adjoining churches, schools, or hospitals." A ticket for a loud stereo is a non-moving violation and carries a small fine that many just see as a small price to pay for playing their stereos at the volume that they want. The new law, if enacted, would change the offense to a moving violation, increase the fine, and assign points; too many points on a driver's record can lead to suspension of driving privileges. The bill is supported by law enforcement agencies, especially in university communities such as Gainesville, where police are frustrated by having to respond to loud noise complaints but having their hands tied with limited enforcement authority.

Other states and municipalities are also cracking down on loud music. To reduce the growing volume, cities such as New York and Chicago are now impounding cars with loud stereos and holding them as evidence until the case is adjudicated. This provides a strong incentive for violators to appear in court and to pay their fines.

Aside from the annoyance most experience when forced to listen to a loud stereo, loud stereos on the road present a real safety issue to drivers for several reasons.

• Driver emotions
- Emotions have a big impact on driver safety. Driving experts have long known that the key to safe driving is keeping your emotions in check. A driver who is irritated, upset, or angry tends to take greater chances or fails to give full attention to the complex task of driving.

The driving situation, especially in urban areas is frustrating enough as it is. When a driver who is frustrated or angry is involuntarily assaulted by a booming stereo while stuck in traffic, the noise and irritation can lead to unsafe driving practices. In some cases, if a driver who is angry gets pushed over his or her tipping point the situation could become far more dangerous leading to a case of:


• Road Rage
- Road rage is a serious and growing problem on America's roadways. So serious that the American Psychological Association has given it its own diagnosis; Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). IED results when a driver who is angry gets pushed over a psychological tipping point, usually by the actions of another driver, and lashes out in an attempt to harm or even kill the other driver. There have been documented cases of road rage caused by loud stereos with at least one case leading to the murder of the driver whose loud stereo precipitated the event. There have also been cases of home owners or non-drivers, killing someone over a loud stereo.


• Physical effects - Studies show that people react physically to noise. At 90 decibels (dB) or above, studies have shown that the adrenaline reaction is so powerful that people can become openly hostile and belligerent. 120 to 130 decibels is the normal threshold for pain in the ears. The average "boom car" stereo produces 120 to 140 decibels.




Long term exposure to loud noises by pregnant women can influence embryo development. According to lowertheboom.org, a website devoted to reducing the amount of noise prevalent in modern society, "exposure to the high-intensity/low-frequency sound will negatively affect her unborn child, due to the fight-or-flight adrenaline response of the mother's body. If the noise assault is in the first trimester, damage to the delicate fetal organs can occur due to the interruption of normal oxygen and nutrient flow to the placenta. During the first 14 to 60 days after conception, important developments in the central nervous system and vital organs of the baby are taking place."




• Listening to the road – Drivers need to be able to "hear the road"; in other words, drivers need to be able to hear and interpret important sounds around them as they drive. The sound of screeching tires or the fast approach of another vehicle can alert a driver to possible dangerous situations. Being aware of and getting out of the way of emergency vehicles can mean the difference between life and death.
  
  

Reducing the stress level on drivers and courtesy to other drivers, even when that courtesy is not returned, is critical to a safe driving environment. Fans of loud car stereos are naturally trying to block any legislation that could curb their desire to play their stereos as loud as they want. They also tend to ignore or discount studies that show the dangers of exposure to loud music. One such driver suggested that, "if you don't like it, just don't listen to it." That is somewhat like telling someone who is passing by a pig farm to "just don't smell it." Senses can't be turned off and the full use of our senses to the greatest extent possible, are important for safe driving.

Labels: driver courtesy, driver emotions, driver safety, florida traffic laws, road rage, safe driving

A new poll was released earlier in the week that was somewhat saddening but not at all surprising. The poll looked at the top 25 metropolitan centers in the US and judged them from worst to best based on the level of angry and aggressive drivers in those cities. The 2009 "In The Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey," commissioned by AutoVantage and conducted by Affinion Group Media listed New York as having the least courteous drivers in the nation. That is probably good news to Miami which led the nation in that category for the past three years.

What this survey shows is that it is not the quality of the roads or the number of cars but the behavior of individual drivers that make the roads so dangerous. According to the Affinion survey, when asked the major causes of road rage, the most frequent responses were:

• Bad/careless driving, such as cutting others off, speeding, tailgating, talking on cell phones, making obscene gestures and not using proper signals
• People who are angry, stressed, frustrated, tired or had a bad day
• People being in a hurry, impatient or running late
• Traffic problems, accidents, poor road conditions or construction
• Inconsiderate, disrespectful, selfish drivers who think they own the road

Notice that the great majority of the above comments have to do with behavior. Road delays certainly play a part in adding to the frustration level but it is the behavior of drivers that leads to the greatest frustration and often to road rage.

The survey went on to say that behaviors by other drivers that cause stress for commuters and can lead to road rage include:

• Drivers who talk on their cell phones (84 percent see this every day)
• Driving too fast (58 percent)
• Tailgating (53 percent)
• Drivers eating or drinking while driving (48 percent)
• Texting or e-mailing while driving (37 percent)
Drivers responding to the survey admitted that in response to the bad behaviors of others they:
• Honk their horn at the offending driver (43 percent admit doing this every month)
• Curse at the other driver (36 percent)
• Wave their fist or arms (13 percent)
• Make an obscene gesture (10 percent)
• Call the police to report the driver (7 percent)
• Slam into the car in front of them (1 percent)

Most of the other behaviors listed above won't serve to change the other driver's behavior and it may be enough to push him or her over the edge into a road rage situation. In this situation, a couple of old driving school principles come into play here. One is the FIDO principle which means "Forget It and Drive On". You can't change the other driver's behavior; you can only make him angrier. Forgetting about it isn’t easy to do but it is the safest thing to do when confronted with an aggressive driver. The second principle is the QTIP principle. QTIP stands for "Quit Taking It Personally". That aggressive driver probably didn't have you in mind when he hit the road; instead he is probably an equal opportunity aggressive driver who treats everyone the same way. Don't take his actions personally; just stay out of his way.

As cities grow and roads become more crowded, courtesy on the road is becoming more and more important. Being courteous to another driver, even if that courtesy isn't returned, may be just the thing that will keep the other driver from tipping over from an aggressive driver to someone trying to assault you in a road rage incident.

It is interesting to note that drivers in Portland Oregon, the city with the most courteous drivers, witness far less of the aggressive and distracting behaviors that are seen in New York and Atlanta. The cities where drivers pay attention to the road and exercise random acts of kindness encounter fewer angry drivers. There is another thing that traffic engineers know that fewer and fewer drivers seem to realize. Roads where drivers drive the speed limit and obey the traffic signs have the smoothest running traffic.

Labels: aggressive driving, dangers of speeding, driver courtesy, driver safety, forget it and drive on, road rage, speeding