My new Fiesta one month on - report

The effects of music tempo on simulated driving performance and vehicular control. Warren Brodsky. 2001

Abstract
The automobile is currently the most popular and frequently reported location for listening to music. Yet, not much is known about the effects of music on driving performance, and only a handful of studies report that music-evoked arousal generated by loudness decreases automotive performance. Nevertheless, music tempo increases driving risks by competing for attentional space; the greater number of temporal events which must be processed, and the frequency of temporal changes which require larger memory storage, distract operations and optimal driving capacities. The current study explored the effects of music tempo on PC-controlled simulated driving. It was hypothesized that simulated driving while listening to fast-paced music would increase heart rate (HR), decrease simulated lap time, and increase virtual traffic violations. The study found that music tempo consistently affected both simulated driving speed and perceived speed estimates: as the tempo of background music increased, so too did simulated driving speed and speed estimate. Further, the tempo of background music consistently affected the frequency of virtual traffic violations: disregarded red traffic-lights (RLs), lane crossings (LNs), and collisions (ACs) were most frequent with fast-paced music. The number of music-related automobile accidents and fatalities is not a known statistic. Police investigators, drivers, and traffic researchers themselves are not mindful of the risks associated with listening to music while driving. Implications of the study point to a need for drivers' education courses to raise public awareness about the effects of music during driving.


See also
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1870853.stm - "Fast music - dangerous driving"

 

I wouldn't say can't ....I just prefer not to really.

 

Booked the car in for some work, the brake noise is not getting any better so it needs looking at. Having quite a bit of work done:-

New brake pads -£30 for parts
New discs if required (doubt they will be)
New arch brake pipes - £15 parts
New reverse light switch £10 new
Fixing the drivers door so it opens. Depends if it needs a new lock or not.

All above are safety issues so they need sorting, hopefully I will get change from £200. I've fixed the rear screen heater so at least if my car brakes down I can keep my hands warm as I push it.

It is probably about 3 hours labour so around £90 plus parts.

 

Fixing the drivers door so it opens

I thought you bought a car in good nick!

AT enter this comp!
http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/index.asp?sessionx=IpqiNwB6JDAlJ0qiNwF6IHqi

 

I've got an image of the dukes of hazzards style of entry (into the car!)

 

Haha I might just do that, I wonder if SEAT technicians are aware of the long and complicated process of removing the plugs on that engine, lets put it this way vinigar and WD40 are requried tools of the trade!

As for being in good nick, it is a £350 13 year old car. It will have its problems, and door locks are infamous of going wrong on Fords, also the door worked when I bought it.

I know spending money on old cars is dead money, but it still a lot cheaper than taking out a hefty loan for something newer.

 

AT this is the most deeply interesting thread I have ever read.

Do you want to know what food I am likley to buy at tesco this evening?

 

Garyi the point is I wouldn't read a thread called "what I bought from tesco this morning" if you made a thread "been banned for listening to music too loud" I would .

 

Yeah, I mean, 'my new fiesta one month on' really grabs your attention, it's irresistible .

Actually I'm on tenterhooks for when this particular Fiesta gets consigned to the scrapyard so you can agonise over what to buy next, and then inevitably buy another Fiesta, and it all starts over again. It's like Groundhog day .

 

I suspect they have a much better idea than you, and wont need to resort to cowboy tactics of WD40 or vinegar

 

Surely using WD40 and vinigar on a 13 year old car is a far better tactic than removing the cylinder head and as a result having to fit a new timing chain?

It is an iron cylinder head so the plugs rust into the head. If you attempt to remove them without trying to free them the spark plug will just snap

 

There are much better products for such situations than WD40. WD40 is a water dispersant not a lubricant or rust penetrator.
There are also other methods of sorted corroded threads.

Like i said, they will know much better than you.

Stop worrying over nothing.

 

Stop worrying over nothing.


It's a vocation for AT!

 

I agree...but on the upside - makes me feel normal...

 

Gary, what are you buying for tea tonight?

I thought of having a Mushroom Pappardelle with garlic bread and a nice Peroni beer, does anyone rate this combo?.
I'd be interested to see what you think...
or whether I'd missed some better pasta-based alternatives.

 

well, you'll need decent peripherals (i.e. plate, cutlery etc) to get the best out if them - and if you eat them from a decent support (i.e. good solid wooden table and non of this glass crap) then you'll be fine...

some people will argue that all pasta tastes the same - I'm not convinced myself tho...

 

Thanks for clearing that up, this is my last post on this sometimes difficult subject.

Tarte au Citron for dessert. (sprung platter naturally)

 

An essex girl in a saxo?

 

...me? here? with my reputation? you know you would.

 

I wouldn't, for SO many reasons...