Who doesn’t love to listen to a little music while they drive? It helps make long trips more enjoyable. 

But is listening to music safe for your drivers? Or is it just a distraction? It’s your job as a fleet manager to reduce risks and ensure your drivers are productive and safe. 

As long as it’s done with a few safety guidelines in mind, it can be fine to allow your drivers to enjoy music on the job. Here are some more of our thoughts on this, along with a playlist we at SurePlan have created for fleets to use.

Check out our ROI calculator to see how much your business can save with SurePlan fleet risk management. 

Music in the car

It’s well known that multitasking while driving is dangerous. Even so, listening to music is an acceptable, popular activity to supplement driving.

According to research, 90% of journeys involve music, which suggests that most drivers like having a soundtrack as they’re steering. Studies also show that listening to music can positively affect drivers’ moods. This contributes to a better state of mind and closer attention to good driving behaviour.

All in all, it’s a widely-accepted social norm that can increase your fleet drivers’ positive feelings, while helping them keep their eyes and mind on the road. Provide that freedom, and they are more likely to remain productive, engaged, and committed to good performance.

Safety tips when listening to music

While music can enhance the driving experience, there are still some safety issues to be aware of and caution your mobile workforce about. 

First, music that is played too loud can become a distraction to drivers. One study from the Memorial University of Newfoundland shows that reaction times slow down as much as 20% when music volume reaches 95 decibels, which is about as loud as a motorcycle engine up close.

Second, manipulating a mobile phone while behind the wheel is very risky, even if it’s only to select music. Mobile phones are a major source of distraction, and fleet drivers need to give their full attention to the road and other motorists at all times. 

Even allowing attention to be diverted for a second or two can drastically hurt reaction times, hindering drivers from responding quickly to hazards, and making collisions more likely.

What this means is that listening to music must come with some rules such as - fleet drivers should never use music beyond a certain volume, and to preset music on their mobile devices before setting out on their journeys.

We’ve created a playlist for you

We’ve created a great playlist of music that fleet drivers can use on Spotify. It features a diverse array of Kiwi artists.

Your drivers can set this to play before taking off in their vehicles — avoiding the risks of changing the music en route, and aiding them in relieving stress and focusing on the road.

Check out our Spotify playlist. We’re confident it will help upgrade your drivers’ performance!

Listening to music can help, not hurt, your fleet drivers if it’s done properly. With preset music at reasonably-low volumes, your drivers will get more pleasure out of work. And that will make for better concentration, safer driving, and less overall risk.