A Chinese study has found that there are certain songs that make us drive more dangerously and ones which can actually make you drive more safely.

The South China University of Technology has identified that songs with a tempo of 120BPM or more could make drivers put their foot on the accelerator and even attempt riskier moves.

The research found that a driver’s behaviour changed markedly when they were driving with rock music. Drivers were put in a simulator and asked to drive in silence and with a range of different music styles. The simulation saw drivers negotiate a six-lane motorway and found that over a 20 minute period drivers switched lane 140 times when listening to rock music, twice the average under normal driving conditions. Rock music also made drivers speed up by an average of 5mph above the limit.

Lead researcher Qiang Zeng, said: "The findings are useful for the development of effective driver education strategies — in particular, a publicity programme that could enhance public awareness of the negative impact of music listening on driving performance.”

The most dangerous song to listen to was Green Day’s American Idiot with a BPM of 189, while Led Zeppellin’s 63BPM had the opposite effect.

The five most dangerous songs are:

American Idiot – Green Day
Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus
Mr Brightside – The Killers
Don’t Let Me Down – The Chainsmokers
Born to run – Bruce Springsteen

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