Research confirms that listening to rock music makes you a worse driver
Scientists have found that if you listen to higher tempo songs while on the road, you are more likely to drive erratically.The testing by researchers at South China University of Technology showed that songs with more than 120 beats per minute (BPM) like The Killers hit track Mr Brightside, made people drive at faster speeds and perform more dangerous manoeuvres.
Researchers used a driving simulator to test their theory, which saw participants drive for 20 minutes on a 6-lane motorway while listening to either rock music, lighter pop music or in silence.
During the simulation test, drivers changed lanes on average 70 times. When listening to rock music like Green Day’s classic American Idiot which has 189 BPM, drivers changed lanes up to 140 times. It wasn’t just lane changing habits that increased, the faster paced music saw the test subjects drive almost 10 km/h above the signposted speed limit.
The study found the most dangerous songs to listen to while driving include:
- American Idiot – Green Day
- Party In The USA – Miley Cyrus
- Mr Brightside – The Killers
- Don’t Let Me Down – The Chainsmokers
- Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
At the other end of the scale was Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven, with a BPM of just 63 making it one of the safest songs to listen to while driving. Other ‘safe’ hits include:
- Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- God’s Plan – Drake
- Africa – Toto
- Location – Khalid
So next time you're frustrated by being in bumper to bumper traffic on your way home, maybe put on some slower paced music like Africa by Toto.
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