Effekte von Musik auf das Fahrverhalten

This paper deals with the influence of hearing musical pieces on driving performance. Twenty neurologically and psychiatrically healthy subjects drove a driving simulator under three conditions: 1. while they heard exciting music, 2. while they heard relaxing music or 3. without hearing musical pieces (control condition). During hearing musical pieces (exciting and relaxing) physiological arousal increases as indicated by increased heart rate (HR). More interestingly is the finding that during hearing of exciting music, driving speed and speeding substantially incre- ased. Additionally, reaction times to unexpected obstacles (deers crossing the road) increased during music exposure. Thus, music exposure substantially influences driving performance al- though the subjects are not aware of changing their driving performance.