DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION: HOW MUSIC IMPACTS MOOD AND MANNERS ON BRITAIN’S ROADS

New study reveals the best and worst music choices for Brits driving this Christmas

As the festive season approaches and the thoughts of the nation turn to driving home for Christmas, new research from Quotemehappy.com reveals that millions of drivers could be unwittingly jeopardising the safety of Britain’s roads through their choice of in-car music.

Quotemehappy.com - the car insurance brand designed for careful drivers - commissioned the study of over 2,000 motorists to explore the relationship between the type of music motorists listen to in their car and the type of behaviour they demonstrate on the road. The findings indicate a connection between the two: rock, metal and hip-hop listeners are more likely to speed, tailgate and be involved in accidents; while Britain’s 7.25m classical and 20m pop music fans experience the least stress at the wheel.

Rock Rage?

• Drivers listening to rock are more than twice as likely to experience road rage as pop listeners. More than two-thirds (67%) of rock fans and two-fifths (39%) of hip-hop listeners admit to recently swearing or gesturing at other drivers, compared to 29% of pop and 16% of classical fans.
• Drivers listening to rock and hip-hop also seem most likely to be involved in accidents. In the past three years, 31% of drivers playing rock music and 20% playing hip-hop in their cars say they have been involved in a minor road accident. This compares to just 13% of drivers listening to pop.
• Drivers listening to metal are the quickest to anger: 62% reveal they have recently lost their temper with other road users and 75% admit to regularly speeding. One in ten (11%) metal fans admit they have experienced a ‘near miss’ accident while driving because they have been distracted by their stereo.
• In contrast, drivers playing classical music are the least likely to speed, just one in five (19%) say they tailgate the car in front and only a third (34%) lose their cool with other drivers. Overall, 42% of motorists playing classical music said they found driving relaxing.
• Similar levels of calm and consideration are found among pop listeners, who are less than half as likely to tailgate than rock fans. In turn, just a third (35%) of those listening to pop have recently incited rude and aggressive behaviour from other drivers compared to 79% of rockers.

Classical composure

Commenting on the findings, lecturer in music psychology Victoria Williamson, said: “Classical music makes fewer demands on our brain functions because it’s less vocal. Slower paced music, clear structures and soft notes - common traits of much classical music - induce listeners into a relaxed mood with the potential to elicit more considerate driving. In contrast, the fast tempos of rock music, especially when played loudly, can not only divert attention from driving, but result in greater driver aggression too. To help encourage greater consideration and calmer actions at the wheel, rock, metal and hip-hop fans could reduce their music volume and choose slightly slower-paced songs.”

Based on the research findings, Quotemehappy.com is publishing suggested playlists for careful driving on its Facebook page and is inviting the public to join in by contributing their own suggestions for music to drive carefully to.

Marco Distefano, managing director of Quotemehappy.com, said: “We’d never base an insurance premium on someone’s choice of music – but we are interested in driving behaviour. While in some driving situations, complete silence may be the most sensible option to maintain focus, music can ease the boredom of long journeys and keep people alert. We’re not urging rockers to become pop fans but do hope that this research prompts motorists to think about how their choice of car music effects their driving – so that, ultimately, driving is as stress-free and safe as possible.”

Music and concentration

While the survey indicates some music genres are less conducive to careful driving than others, it also highlights the positive effects listening to music in the car can have. Over two fifths (43%) say that music has helped keep them awake and alert at the wheel; while more than half (51%) of all drivers surveyed, and 60% of RnB fans, rely on music to relieve the monotony of driving. Three-quarters (74%) say that in-car music cheers them up and helps make the journey more pleasant.

In some situations drivers rely on silence to concentrate: more than half of drivers (56%) turn the music off when driving in new surroundings and 40% prefer quiet when performing manoeuvres. According to Victoria Williamson, this comes down to music acting as a ‘drain’ on our mind’s processing power: “When we need to concentrate fully, we cannot afford to waste our resources on non-essential processing tasks. Genres with complex musical structures and fast lyrics can prove distracting to a demanding task.”

Driving home this Christmas?

With 81% of Brits planning to hit the road visiting family and friends over Christmas, in-car music will play a festive role: 80% will be driving home singing along to festive tunes to get into the Christmas spirit, while half of drivers (48%) will use car music to unwind after festive family gatherings.

Britain’s most popular Christmas driving song is revealed as Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody followed closely by The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York; Band Aid’s Do They Know it’s Christmas; Bing Crosby’s White Christmas; and Wham’s Last Christmas.

Quotemehappy.com launched in August 2011 and is specifically designed to offer low cost, comprehensive car insurance for careful drivers. It is available direct at www.quotemehappy.com and via price comparison websites.

Notes to editors:

• *Quotemehappy.com commissioned research by Populus among a nationally representative sample of 2,050 UK motorists in November 2011
• Victoria Williamson is a lecturer and researcher in music psychology

About Quotemehappy.com:

• Quotemehappy.com is a new, low cost motor insurance brand that covers only careful drivers and operates mostly online
• Quotes are obtainable direct from Quotemehappy.com and via price comparison websites.
• Quotemehappy.com keeps its costs as low as possible by operating online. Premiums are also kept down as Quotemehappy.com is very clear about who it does and doesn’t insure. For example, it does not insure new drivers, those with older or more expensive cars or drivers who have had more than one at-fault claim in the last four years.
• Quotemehappy.com is underwritten by Aviva - the world’s sixth largest* insurance group. It provides more than 53 million customers with insurance, savings and investment products with total worldwide sales in 2010 of £47.1 billion**. It is the UK’s largest insurer with 19 million customers.
• Follow Quotemehappy.com on twitter: #quotemehappy
• Visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/quotemehappy

*based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2010

**at 31 December 2010.