# Do you listen to the radio when driving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044 "2005-06-13T05:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/1 "2005-06-13T05:16:27Z")
Well, do you? I can’t deal with driving in silence. I always feel like my car sounds eight times louder without the radio on. Like the engine will fall out of it, even though I know everything is fine. So I listen to music while on the road. My father, on the other hand, likes silence. Occasionally, he’ll listen to talk radio, but usually nothing. I forsee this causing problems on our cross country road trip next week. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/2 "2005-06-13T05:32:43Z")
I go through phases. Sometimes, the radio really annoys me. NPR talkie shows usually help but sometimes the music there isn’t what I’m looking for. I often have the police scanner with me and I can’t hear it above the radio. If there’s some ‘action’, the music is turned off. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/3 "2005-06-13T06:03:16Z")
From the moment I get into the car. The very first thing I do when I rent a car is turn the key, and then set all the stations. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/4 "2005-06-13T06:16:52Z")
I do , mainly to classical music. I sometimes also listen to a play on the the excellent BBC radio 4. The only trouble with the latter is that I sometimes come to the end of my journey before the drama finishes . So I have to park up and sit there to find out who committed the crime, or if the hero finds true happiness. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/5 "2005-06-13T07:59:21Z")
Yep, mostly NPR but also the local golden oldies station. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/6 "2005-06-13T08:26:18Z")
Yes. And CD’s, which kind of sucks sometimes because if the radio begins to annoy me I pop in a CD and I find myself getting burned out on my CD’s because the radio generally sucks…so then I suck up the radio for awhile, and then I just can’t stand it anymore, so then I pop in a CD anyway… Lather, rinse, repeat. Can’t drive in silence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/7 "2005-06-13T08:37:24Z")
That’s the only time I DO listen to the radio. (To be really technical I also do it at one job I’ll be holding for another week.) My late car was older than CD technology, and the tape player didn’t work, so my options were the radio, silence, and singing to myself. Generally the least painful was the former. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/8 "2005-06-13T08:57:22Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s the only time I DO listen to the radio. (To be really technical I also do it at one job I’ll be holding for another week.) My late car was older than CD technology, and the tape player didn’t work, so my options were the radio, silence, and singing to myself. Generally the least painful was the former. Count me among this group. I listen to online audio when I’m at the computer and will turn on the radio when I’m watching Titans games (because the TV audio sucks!). Otherwise it’s CD’s or tapes or (rarely) vinyl at home. In the car, it’s jazz radio 90% of the time and CD’s the other 10%. Silence is annoying, since it’s not really silence but road racket or car cacophony. One weird thing I’ve observed about the radio when I’m driving, is that if I have to think about something specific, like the ATM or picking something up at a drive-thru window, I’ll turn the volume down so I can concentrate on the other task. In similar fashion, I have found that I can work crossword puzzles to music and jigsaw puzzles while I listen to talk, but not crossword puzzles to talk. This supports a notion I heard/read about, that different sectors of the brain control music and speech. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/9 "2005-06-13T16:03:07Z")
I was a rabid radio listener, until I became a pod person. (unless it counts that I use an FM broadcaster to listen to my I-Pod through my car radio ?) Must have Music ! ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/10 "2005-06-13T16:11:15Z")
I have XM radio. I listen to the radio so much when driving that I pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/11 "2005-06-13T16:13:26Z")
Silence in the car?? Sounds like torture! I can’t drive that long without music, unless the other person is really chatty. Still, for the quiet times I absolutely need music. It keeps my attention and keeps me alert. If I’m alone I sing along, loudly. I can’t conceive of a quiet ride! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/12 "2005-06-13T16:15:24Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > Yes. And CD’s, which kind of sucks sometimes because if the radio begins to annoy me I pop in a CD and I find myself getting burned out on my CD’s because the radio generally sucks…so then I suck up the radio for awhile, and then I just can’t stand it anymore, so then I pop in a CD anyway… > > Lather, rinse, repeat. > > Can’t drive in silence. Exactly. And while listening to the radio, I’m obsessed with the idea that something better is on another station, or at least I can’t stand to hear another Elton John song, so I drive with one finger eternally poised to change the station, which I do approximately every 12 seconds. Every once in a while, I run across a rare jewel…usually late at night. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/13 "2005-06-13T16:31:46Z")
What **Audrey Levins** said. I recently was without a CD player in my car for over two weeks after getting a different car and was forced to listen to only radio. I was so lonesome for Bob Marley it hurt. I finally got my new CD player installed last week, and promptly went out and bought myself two new CDs to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/14 "2005-06-13T16:49:24Z")
I use the XM Radio in my car although there’s only time to listen to two or three songs before I get to work. On the rare long trip, I use the Radio as well as CDs. With the right music mix, long trips are much, much easier. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/15 "2005-06-13T17:24:37Z")
Yes, I have about four favorite stations that I listen to. If one starts in on a round of commercials, I just switch to another station. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I often have the police scanner with me and I can’t hear it above the radio. If there’s some ‘action’, the music is turned off. If I have my fire department scanner with me, I listen to that if I can’t find any music I like. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/16 "2005-06-13T17:31:32Z")
Usually the radio or a CD. NPR and such on the way to work. CDs on long trips. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/17 "2005-06-13T19:19:42Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I often have the police scanner with me and I can’t hear it above the radio. If there’s some ‘action’, the music is turned off. **jinglmassiv** , I had thought that was illegal (having a police scanner in your vehicle) - have I been wrong all this time? Just curious… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/18 "2005-06-13T19:41:16Z")
The car is, in fact, the only time I listen to the radio. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/19 "2005-06-13T20:02:02Z")
> [@Miss2u](#): > > jinglmassiv, I had thought that was illegal (having a police scanner in your vehicle) - have I been wrong all this time? Just curious… Good question and one worth asking. It varies from state to state. There’s a major exception, however. Licensed amateur radio operators are exempted on a federal level. Also, it’s [not a problem in many states](http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/scanlaws/scanner5.html) (verify local laws before scanning in the car). For some reason, Michigan seems to create the most horror stories. And it’s actually short for **Jungle Massive**. It’s a common error and thus, my fault. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044/20 "2005-06-14T02:37:05Z")
mp3 CDs. San Francisco to Riverside without changing the CD. Oh, and very very loud. 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-listen-to-the-radio-when-driving/308044.md?page=2)