With the holiday season in full swing, we’re all hearing Christmas songs everywhere we go – from the mall to the dentist’s office. Now, a new study suggests that some yuletide hits could have an effect on people’s ability to drive safely.
Millions of travelers will be hitting the roads during the holidays. While these long road trips can be exhausting, researchers want drivers to keep a few things in mind before they decide to crank up the tunes. But which songs are statistically the most dangerous?
Most Dangerous (and Safest) Christmas Songs
An Irish insurance company called Chill Insurance recently released a list of the most dangerous Christmas songs to drive to claiming that some of these tunes could even cause crashes. The results are based on the number of beats per minute in the song. According to research from a university in China, songs with quicker tempos could affect a driver’s ability to focus on the task of driving.
The research showed a connection between driving performance and tunes with more than 120 beats per minute. By this calculation, “Frosty the Snowman” took the top spot as a treacherous tune with 172 beats per minute. Mariah Carey’s all-time popular Christmas hit “All I Want for Christmas is You” came in second for its potential to cause issues on the road. Third on the list is “Feliz Navidad” with 149 beats per minute.
Rounding up the top 10 are these other Christmas hits that’s on all our playlists – Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Happy Xmas (War is Over), Let it Snow, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and finally, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. So, are there any safe Christmas songs? The researchers have you covered. The top five safe Christmas songs are (drumroll) – Fairytale of New York, Santa Baby, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Wonderful Christmastime and It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
The Problem of Distracted Driving
But, on a serious note, not all distracted driving can be blamed on Christmas. You can probably continue to listen to your favorite Christmas hits while driving if you stay focused on the road by putting your distracting devices away and avoiding driving while impaired or sleepy. We wish everyone a safe, joyous, and musical holiday season!
Source: https://www.chill.ie/blog/the-most-dangerous-christmas-songs-to-drive-to/
