Friday, August 05, 2005

Drive Safe: Sing Your Little Head Off

Good news for this guy. According to a new survey, singing while you drive may actually make you a safer driver. Conducted for a British insurance agency, researchers at the University of Sheffield probed the minds of 1,780 drivers to find that 63% of those who hadn't had an accident in 4+ years also listened to music while driving. Dr. Nicola Dibben, a music psychologist at Sheffield U, made the following statements regarding dashboard divas:

"Singing while driving stimulates not only the mind but also the body which, in turn, produces heightened alertness and reduced fatigue," she explained to the newspaper. "Singing may be less distracting than conversation because drivers recall words to songs they already know, or because it is fairly easy to learn the words to music where it uses repeated lyrics."


The article then goes on to discuss which types of music are best for driving. Supposedly dance music isn't highly recommended, but in my non-professional opinion, if you ever find yourself pulling an all-nighter across some really desolate state, electronica works wonders. Here's some lists that the experts want you to stay informed of:

Top three best driving tunes:

* "They Can't Take That Away From Me," by Frank Sinatra
* "Don't Cha Wanna Ride," by Joss Stone
* "Canon in D," by Pachelbel

Three tunes to avoid while driving:

* "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1," by Edward Elgar
* "Firestarter," by Prodigy
* "Kim," by Eminem

...So, there you have it. How awesome is it that "Firestarter" and "Pomp & Circumstance" are both examples of what NOT to listen to? Especially when I never drive anywhere without my copy of "Pomp" on hand. I'm lucky to be alive!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

While singing is possible for English listeners most American drivers are close to tone deaf and actually don't like to listen to themselves. Research by breath master Henry Rohrberg Smith of Boston showed that breathing techniques were effective for all users tested and enhanced alertness better than any other method. I myself have been exposed to a myriad of music of different genres (my son is a music trivia genius) and I still could not see myself head banging and keeping within the lines on the highway....