Why do we turn off the radio when reversing in the parking lot | Mobility

As you go about your day, you gather information about your environment through taste, hearing, smell, touch, and sight. The brain, which is part of the central nervous system, collects all this information and decides how to proceed. The brain is constantly evaluating what its primary task – the main task the brain is focused on – and its secondary task, the simultaneous task whose focus is less, should be.

Our brain is able to switch from task to task so quickly that we think we’re multitasking, but in reality we can’t, according to the US website Howstuffworks. This switch is great, but not perfect. Because when you switch between different points of interest, milliseconds are lost. And if you get lost, for example, it could mean the difference between seeing or not seeing the street sign you’re looking for.

In short: one task is not a problem for the brain. Don’t do two tasks. But on more than two tasks, the brain begins to perform less effectively and is more likely to make mistakes. When we lose or have to perform a driving task that we don’t do often, like parking a car, our brains are limited to that one task.

The result: we no longer listen to passenger conversations, our field of view has shrunk and we focus all our attention on our vision or spatial relationships.

That’s why drivers often turn off the radio when driving in crowded urban areas, looking for a specific address or driving in dangerous conditions, such as heavy rain or during a hailstorm. These activities require more focus. Turning the radio on or off removes one task from the brain’s menu and provides more attention to the most important task: finding the way. Or reverse parking properly.

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