An Israeli research endeavored to answer the question "What's the best driving music?" and found the answer. The problem is, it's not one that you'll like.
Psychology professor
Warren Brodsky of
Ben-Gurion University discovered that the answer is
none, or at least none that's good for you!
It turns out that music is a major distraction for all drivers, especially if it's a song you like or one that frequently changes tempo and volume. Any music with a beat that gets you drumming on your steering wheel increases your potential for drifting into a different lane without you noticing. An old favorite can get you reminiscing about the past, while something that you've never heard before can make you concentrate more on the lyrics than your driving.
Probably none of you reading this are going to give up music in the car for talk radio, so what's the solution?
Brodsky suggest unfamiliar music with a steady tempo but no lyrics, so I guess that means we'll all be listening to smooth jazz in our cars soon, or not.
If you're interested in reading the study, the findings were published in his book "Driving With Music: Cognitive-Behavioral Implications."
