Pop songs like the Cheeky Girls 'The Cheeky Song' can help improve your driving skills, whilst rap lyrics like those contained within Eminems 'Lose Yourself' can encourage drivers to speed.
The revelations are based on research commissioned by Acclaim Entertainment, makers of award winning* driving game Burnout 2: Point of Impact.
The research (carried out in real life driving environments) was commissioned in order to assess whether different types of music would affect the way people drive within the game.
To mark the release of Burnout 2: Point of Impact on the Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube, Acclaim recruited Adam Verby,driving expert and chauffeur to some of the biggest names in show business, to investigate the effects that various genres of music have on people's driving skills and techniques.
Verby is one of the UK's leading specialists in offensive and defensive driving as well as being personal chauffeur to a host of celebrities including Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Caprice, Will Young, Blue and Holly Valence making him the perfect person to carry out the research.
To test the skill enhancing properties of rock, pop, jazz, classical, techno and rap on driving skills, 100 individuals from around the UK, were observed by Adam whilst driving under the effects of different types of music.
The results were conclusive:
70% of those who listened to pop songs experienced a higher level of concentration when driving and were less likely to speed and more likely to reach their destinations without crashing
54% of drivers exposed to rock songs demonstrated superior reaction times
43% of those who listened to classical music were more prone to having a road accident due to the 'dream like' states that sounds of Beethoven and Mozart encouraged
27% of drivers listening to rap became more aggressive in their techniques, they were more likely to break the speed limit and had a higher propensity to crash than drivers listening to any other music genre
68% of drivers listening to jazz took longer to reach their destinations and approached their journey with caution and anxiety
Verby said: " The tests results are fairly conclusive and demonstrate that playing certain music in your car can dramatically determine the way in which you drive and the speed at which you drive at. Kate Moss and Johnny Depp would both make good drivers on the road as they love listening to a bit of rock and pop in the car, howeverDuncan from Blue loves listening to rap so could be prone to dangerous driving if he is not careful."
"What makes a good driver in the real world, does not, however, necessarily make a good computer game driver
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article