Sinatra good, Eminem bad

New survey singles out the safest driving music

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 20 July 2005 / Loading comments

Not watching the road can be bad too...

To be a safe driver, say yes to Pulp, Joss Stone and Frank Sinatra, but no to The Prodigy, Eminem, and even composer Edward Elgar. Even talking can be bad too.

The latest survey into driver safety not only finds that singing along to your favourite music on the stereo helps increase alertness while driving -- it has words to say about individual bands and songs.

So relaxing sounds with gentle words are good from a safety point of view, while hard-edged, aggressive music is not. Or so they say.

These are all results from a survey of 1,780 drivers by Privilege Insurance, which finds that half of motorists often sing along to music behind the wheel, while seven per cent claim that in-car conversation distracts them.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of drivers with four or more accident-free years said music was soothing while driving, making them feel calmer and more relaxed, while a quarter said music aided their concentration.

So who listens to what? Drivers with four accident-free years -- so-called 'safe drivers', listen to easy listening, classical and indie/rock. But those without four accident-free years also tend to listen to indie/rock - along with dance/house music and R'n'B -- we think they mean the new definition -- when motoring. And chart/pop music is the most listened to genre by safe and unsafe drivers alike. So the results are hardly unambiguous.

The best 'safe' driving songs are:

Disco 2000 - Pulp
Don't Cha Wanna Ride - Joss Stone
Heya - OutKast
They can't take that away from me - Frank Sinatra
Canon in D - Pachelbel
Light - Talvin Singh

The worst are:

Firestarter - The Prodigy
Start the Riot - Atari Teenage Riot
Kim - Eminem
The Was it Isn't - DJ Jurgen
Pomp and Circumstance March no.1 - Elgar
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba - Handel

Music psychologist Dr Nicola Dibben from the University of Sheffield carried out the study. She said overly complex music with little repetition and highly emotive vocals can divert motorists' attention away from the roads. She said it leads to greater aggression and reckless behaviour, and could put drivers at risk of accidents.

Dibben said music can help motorists drive safely and that it can be more effective than silence, conversation or talk radio in achieving an optimal state of alertness. It aids safe motoring and enables drivers to relax, concentrate and keep themselves alert while driving, she said -- even singing along to music can help.

The survey is to be published in Psychology of Music.

Proportion of drivers who sing in their car: North West (57); South East (55); Yorkshire (53); Scotland (51); Midlands (51); North East (50); Wales/West (48); South West (47); London (47); East Anglia (41).

Or of course, you can choose to disbelieve the whole thing and concentrate on your driving...

Image by Charlie Kindel