Songs that are more likely to cause aggressive driving have been identified by a British consumer research firm and, besides highlighting a diversity in tastes and a fondness for oldies, the results may have you changing the tunes you listen to behind the wheel.
The most dangerous song to drive to, according to researchers? "Hey Mama," by the pop-rap group The Black Eyed Peas.
"Dead on Arrival" by rock band Fall Out Boy comes in second, and "Paper Planes" by Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. is in third place.
"Music that is noisy, upbeat and increases your heart rate is a deadly mix,” Dr. Simon Moore at London University
told Confused.com. "Fast beats can cause excitement and arousal that can lead people to concentrate more on the music than on the road."
The researchers' method involved eight participants, four male and four female. They were asked to drive 500 miles, 250 with music and 250 without music. While they drove, a mobile app determined the drivers’ speed, acceleration, and breaking to see how music affected the driving.
Moore said a fast tempo can cause people to subconsciously speed up to match the beat of the song. "Also, listening to music you don’t like can cause stress and distraction and this also negatively affects driving," he said.
The rest of the best, er, worst top 10 goes as follows:
"Walkie Talkie Man" by Stereogram
"Paradise City" by Guns N’ Roses
"How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
"Hit the Road, Jack" by Ray Charles
"Get Rhythm" by Johnny Cash
"Heartless," by Kanye West
"Young, Wild and Free" by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa with Bruno Mars.
The most aggressive driver in the study was a pregnant female who listened to hip-hop while driving. Heavy metal music caused one male driver to drive much faster. And classical music, which one would think is intrinsically calming, caused two drivers to drive much more aggressively.
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