The music which makes you a danger whilst danger

Have you ever had the sneaky feeling that listening to Bat Out of Hell on the motorway makes you feel like driving, well, like a bat out of hell?

New research suggests that this nagging thought has more than a grain of truth in it.

Scientists at South China University of Technology have found that drivers listening to fast tracks are more likely to exceed the speed limit than motorists who listen to slower music.

They also found that they are more likely to position themselves badly on the road and drive erratically.

Using a six-lane motorway simulator, scientists discovered that people listening to rock at more than 120 beats per minute speeded up by around 5mph.  In some examples they were clocked at 10mph above the speeds of drivers who were not listening to music, or those who had slower tunes playing.

The worst example was Green Days’ American Idiot which came in at an accelerator-twitching 189 beat per minute.

Meatloaf’s Bat Out Hell doesn’t make the top five but should perhaps be treated with discretion. This classic rock album has an average BPM of 120… but beware. It’s fastest songs, like the title track, top out around an adrenalin-pumping 173.

The top five “danger” songs are:

1/American Idiot (Green Day)

2/ Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus)

3/Mr Brightside (The Killers)

4/ Don’t Let Me Down (The Chainsmokers)

5/ Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)

And the researchers five least “lairy” songs were:

1/ Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)

2/ Under the Bridge (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

3/ God’s Plan (Drake)

4/ Africa (Toto)

5/ Location (Khalid)

The researchers asked people to drive on the simulator for 20 minutes while they listened to fast rock tracks, slower music or no music at all.

While listening to the fast stuff, drivers deviated from their lane 140 times and increased their speeds. In comparison, when they were driving with no music, or listening to the gentler tracks, they veered on average only 70 times.

Researchers said that fast music “may increase drivers’ mental workload” and they suggested that raised stress levels could also play a part.

People listening to the rock tracks had increased heart rates on average, as well as greater variations in their heart rates.

Those drivers listening to gentle music had fewer heart fluctuations and lower heart rates, even in comparison to those listening to no music.

People listening in silence paid the same levels of attention as those listening to gentle music. One suggestion for this is that gentle music is calming and could counter the effects of distractions on the road.

Qiang Zeng, a lead researcher at the South China University of Technology, said the results could help direct “training and management measures, especially for transport operators, and could mitigate the risk of driver distraction.”

So, there you have it: maybe it’s time to slow down and line up a soft rock playlist. Even if you were born to run.