- Putting on a new album may prove fatally distracting while driving.
Most people like listening to music while they drive. And if a hyped new album happens to come out, you’ll probably put it on during the commute.
Be careful if you do, though. It might kill you.
A new study has discovered that listening to the hot new tunes while driving could prove deadly. According to the results, fatal traffic accidents increase significantly on days when a top album releases.
By reviewing traffic accident data over multiple years, the researchers determined that highly anticipated albums coming out increased the number of fatal traffic accidents by more than 15%.
In most cases, the accident stems from the driver being distracted while trying to put on the album. You can file this revelation under those correlations that are surprising but make sense when you think about it.
Taylor Swift, you have blood on your hands.
An Ideal Data Set
The study was carried out by a research team led by Dr. Vishal Patel from Harvard Medical School. They set out to investigate distracted driving and corresponding increases in traffic fatalities.
However, the team found it challenging to evaluate whether crashes were linked to being distracted by a phone or another device.
“You can’t randomize people into using their phones, and drivers rarely volunteer what they were doing in the seconds before a crash,” Patel told The Guardian.
That’s why the researchers decided to focus on days when hyped new music albums came out. On these days, smartphone use shoots up nationwide as people listen to the new songs, with music streaming volumes increasing 43%. Thus, the team had a reliable data set.
“Album releases give you something closer to an experiment – a day when smartphone use jumps nationally for reasons that have nothing to do with road conditions, weather, or who happens to be driving,” explained Patel.
For the study, the team selected the Top 10 streamed albums in a single day between 2017 and 2022. The list includes the kinds of releases you might expect, such as Midnight and Red by Taylor Swift, Certified Lover Boy by Drake, and Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny.
Deadly Symphony
The research team evaluated not only the days the top albums came out but also the 10 days before and after the release day. All in all, they reviewed 233,809 fatal traffic accidents.
Their results were quite grim. Statistically, there’s no denying that releases of big albums kill people.
The number of fatal traffic accidents is 15.1% higher on album release days than on regular days. Although the actual number naturally varies wildly, daily traffic deaths jump from around 120 to 140 on average.
Looking at the statistics, the researchers also determined that certain groups were more likely to die in traffic while listening to the latest jams.
According to the numbers, younger male drivers traveling alone in vehicles with a built-in infotainment system are at the greatest risk.
Play First, Then Drive
As to why album release days increase fatal car accidents, the answer is pretty self-explanatory. The cause is distracted driving.
Specifically, Patel highlighted people putting the new album on while driving.
“You unlock the phone, open the app, find the release, read down a track list, tap the right song. That’s several seconds of looking at a screen,” he said.
What’s more, previous studies have shown that listening to unfamiliar music takes up more mental processing power than listening to your favorites. Consequently, while trying to parse the new songs, drivers may not pay as much attention to the traffic.
And that may cost them their lives.
However, we should be conscious of the study’s limitations. The researchers had no way of determining whether the fatal accidents involved a driver messing with a phone or a car screen.
The numbers, though, imply it’s more likely than not.
So, what’s the takeaway here? Should you not listen to the big new album while driving?
Honestly, you probably shouldn’t – at least based on the grim statistics. But if you do, the simplest way to avoid getting distracted is to hit play before you start driving.
“Pick the album, hit play, put the phone down. If someone’s in the passenger seat, hand it to them,” advised Patel. “The increase showed up almost entirely among drivers who were alone.”