If music has charms to sooth the savage beast, then it should have an affect on road rage. Or at a minimum on one’s driving style. A recent experiment in England attempted to demonstrate this connection.

The study found that different types of music affect your driving style. Specifically, that rock and hip hop are particularly dangerous to drive to.

Music that is noisy, upbeat and increases your heart rate is a deadly mix,“ noted Dr. Moore. "Fast beats can cause excitement and arousal that can lead people to concentrate more on the music than on the road.”

According to the study, the most dangerous driving song was ‘Hey Mama’ by the Black Eyed Peas. Other, supposedly, dangerous songs included ‘Paradise City’ by Guns N’ Roses, ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ by Ray Charles, ‘Get Rhythm’ by Johnny Cash, and ‘Heartless’ by Kanye West.

One other finding is particularly pertinent: listening to music you don’t like can cause stress and distraction which also negatively affects driving.

So should you be worried about the tunes you play in the car? Maybe. But this study doesn’t answer that question. Take, for example, the finding that listening to music you don’t like negatively affects your driving. Well, duh! And if you’re driving by yourself, why would you even listen to music you don’t like? It’s not as if someone else in the car was forcing you to.

That’s just the beginning when it comes to deficiencies in this study. It was performed with only eight drivers – not exactly a large sample, and hardly the basis for statistical significance!

Most importantly, the study didn’t test for much more relevant musical driving situations. Let’s say your passengers are singing ‘A Hundred Bottles of Beer On the Wall’? Is driving while listening to passengers singing dangerous? Is it more dangerous by the time there’s only one bottle left on the wall? Is it more dangerous than actually drinking 100 bottles of beer? That’s the kind of stuff we want to know. And, what about when the driver sings in the car? Is it safer than singing in the shower? Does it depend on the song? Or who is with you in the shower?!

By the way, the study also found that the safest songs to drive to include: ‘Come Away With Me’ by Norah Jones, ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith and ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John. C’mon. They’ve got to be kidding!

Forget the study. I agree with actor Dudley Moore who observed, “The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.” And, perhaps, the safest driving song is the one played by the siren.

Talk to Indwe Risk Services today about the right insurance cover for your vehicle.  Call 0860 13 13 14 or visit www.indwerisk.co.za for more information.