FLORIDA, USA — The holiday season is fast approaching and whether you're already rocking out to the Christmas tunes or dreading that one song playing over and over on the radio, you may want to keep this in mind before you get behind the wheel.
Chill Insurance recently released a list titled "the most dangerous Christmas songs to drive to." The Ireland-based car insurance company says some of your holiday jams might actually increase the risk of dangerous driving.
Citing a study, the site says listening to songs with beats per minute (bpm) higher than 120 are linked to "more dangerous driving behaviors."
So what song topped its list?
"Frosty the Snowman" at 172 bpm. But you may be thinking to yourself, "I don't remember this song being that fast." You'd be right if you're thinking of the classic Gene Autry version.
However, according to Tunebat, Bowling For Soup's version released in 2011 is exactly 172 bpm. That's considerably faster than Autry's 81 bpm.
According to Chill Insurance, these are the 10 most dangerous Christmas songs to drive to:
- Frosty the Snowman (Bowling for Soup, Gene Autry) at 172 bpm
- All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey) at 150 bpm
- Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano) at 149 bpm
- Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (Jackson 5) at 147 bpm
- Happy Xmas (War is Over) (John Lennon & Yoko Ono) at 146 bpm
- Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Frank Sinatra) at 143 bpm
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Gene Autry) at 142 bpm
- I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day (Wizzard) at 140 bpm
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra) at 137 bpm
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Jackson 5) at 129 bpm
Now you may be wondering if those are potentially dangerous to listen to while driving, which ones are the safest?
- Fairytale of New York (The Pogues) at 78 bpm
- Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt) at 84 bpm
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Julie Andrews) at 87 bpm
- Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney) at 95 bpm
- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Michael Buble) at 95 bpm
- Last Christmas (WHAM) at 108 bpm
- Winter Wonderland (Dean Martin) at 111 bpm
- The Little Drummer Boy (Bing Crosby) at 113 bpm
- One More Sleep (Leona Lewis) at 113 bpm
- Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid) at 115 bpm
There is some research to back up the "dangerous" claim. In the 2019 study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers found a link between music played at bpm higher than 120 and driving performance.
However, it is important to note this specific study used rock music and "light" music with participants, not specifically Christmas music.
So regardless of what you're listening to in the car while driving, it's important to practice safe driving during the holidays and throughout the year.