(Illustration by Noga Ami-rav/Stars and Stripes)
Can the music you listen to in the car increase your risk for crashing?
It’s all about tempo, according to a study released by California attorneys group Sweet James, based on research from Australia’s Bond University. And Taylor Swift may not be good for your driving, according to the research.
Here’s what the study found:
How music’s pace affects listeners
Researchers, using data from the National Sleep Foundation, AAA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and SongBPM, made the following determinations:
Slow tempo. Below 80 beats per minute (BPM). At this speed, music can help drivers spot danger and reduce anxiety. These are good things. But sluggish songs may cause drowsiness or “over-calmness” on long drives and worsen attention levels.
Medium tempo. Between 85 and 110 BPM. Aim for this “sweet spot” for long-distance driving, researchers said. Music at this pace can improve a driver’s level of alertness and reduce fatigue without causing overstimulation.
Fast tempo. Above 120 BPM. Fast-tempo music keeps drivers alert and can relieve fatigue, but it can also backfire over time. Zippy songs can increase mental strain, cause distraction, overstimulate and lead to risky driving behavior.
Too slow and you risk drowsy driving. A 2024 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimated that about 18% of all fatal crashes in the United States between 2017 and 2021 involved a drowsy driver.
Calm sets in, but so does the kind of over-relaxation that leads to microsleep — periods of four to five seconds — which, at highway speeds around 60 mph, can careen a car the length of a football field while the driver is basically asleep at the wheel.
Céline Dion’s “Titanic” smash, “My Heart Will Go On,” is in the danger zone at 60 BPM.
Speaking of danger zone: Is your remedy to pick a faster tempo song to reduce fatigue and keep you awake? That can work. Especially in the short term if it gives you time to find a safe spot to pull over and have a nap. Just over 18% of surveyed drivers said they opted to put on upbeat music to thwart road sleep, according to the Sweet James report. About 30% said they’d opt to pull over for a restorative shut-eye.
But putting the pedal to the (heavy) metal can cause drivers to become distracted, overstimulated and lead to risky moves like speeding and running red lights and stop signs.
Kenny Loggins’ “Top Gun” tune “Danger Zone” is 157 BPM. Even Tom Cruise may not be able to compensate.
Songs deemed safer
Songs like AC/DC’s “Back in Black” fall on the safe side. We were surprised by that one, too, but music measuring sites such as BPM Supreme clocks the Australian hard rockers’ enduring 1980 classic at 92 BPM. That’s well under easy listening superstar Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” that slips in just under the wire at 110 BPM.
The Bee Gees, whose three Gibb brothers all made Miami Beach their home during and after their run of dance classics from “Saturday Night Fever,” find all of their hits from the 1977 movie “Saturday Night Fever” in this safest list: “Night Fever” at 109 BPM. “More Than a Woman” at 106 BPM. “How Deep Is Your Love,” 105 BPM. “Stayin’ Alive,” 104 BPM.
Queen’s “We Will Rock You” stomps at 81 BPM. That’s fine. Toto blesses the rains down in “Africa” at 92 BPM, according to Song BPM. OK, too. These websites list beats per minute for thousands of popular songs.
Other medium tempo tunes in the safer 85-110 range include:
“ABC,” Jackson Five. 95 BPM
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Diana Ross. 97 BPM
“Rock Your Body,” Justin Timberlake. 100 BPM
“You’re So Vain,” Carly Simon. 106 BPM
“Tití me preguntó,” Bad Bunny. 107 BPM
“Think,” Aretha Franklin. 110 BPM
Songs deemed too slow
These songs are under 80 BPM, in the range researchers say can yield drowsiness over time.
“At Last,” Etta James. 60 BPM
“Desperado,” Eagles. 60 BPM. Conversely, Linda Ronstadt’s “Desperado” cover from the same early-’70s era is too fast for prolonged driving at 119 BPM, according to SongBPM.
“Turn the Page,” Metallica’s cover of the Bob Seger oldie. 60 BPM
“Lose Control,” Teddy Swims. 72 BPM
“What Was I Made For,” Billie Eilish’s “Barbie” theme. 75 BPM
“Every Breath You Take,” The Police. 79 BPM
Songs deemed too fast (over 120 BPM)
Songs with these perky tempos can reduce fatigue but lead to dangerous driving, according to the study.
“I’m Every Woman,” Whitney Houston. 120 BPM. Chaka Khan’s original version is a slightly better bet at 114 BPM
“You Give Love a Bad Name,” Bon Jovi. 123 BPM
“Damn I Love Miami,” Pitbull & Lil Jon. 124 BPM
“Aperture,” from Harry Styles’ new album. 128 BPM
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Elton John & Kiki Dee. 130 BPM
“Thunderstruck,” AC/DC. 136 BPM
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” Blue Öyster Cult. 142 BPM
“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” Wham! 163 BPM
“Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd. 196 BPM
How recent Billboard Top 10 fared
Researchers concluded that seven of the Top 10 hits on a recent March 2026 Billboard Hot 100 chart sit above 120 BPM or dangerously close to the threshold.
No. 1: “I Just Might,” Bruno Mars. 103 BPM. Safe.
No. 2: “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley. 112 BPM. Safe.
No. 3: “Man I Need,” Olivia Dean. 119 BPM. Borderline.
No. 4: “Risk It All,” Bruno Mars. 171 BPM. The most dangerous current smash. How can that be? “Risk It All,” a bolero ballad, is about 86 BPM (per BPM Supreme). Some sites list 171 BPM because automated tools sometimes “double” the tempo by counting fast rhythmic subdivisions instead of the slower beat most listeners feel. That’s why a song like Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” shows up as 74 BPM (too slow) and 159 BPM (too fast) on different sites.
No. 5: “Ordinary,” Alex Warren. 112 BPM. Safe.
No. 6: “Opalite,” Taylor Swift. 125 BPM. Dangerous.
No. 7: “Stateside,” PinkPantheress ft. Zara Larsson. 123 BPM. Dangerous.
No. 8: “Golden,” HUNTR/X. 103 BPM. Safe.
No. 9: “The Fate of Ophelia,” Taylor Swift. 124 BPM. Dangerous.
No. 10: “Back to Friends,” sombr. 93 BPM. Safe.
