Study: Does Listening to Metal Make You a Bad Driver?

Does listening to metal make you a dangerous driver? A new study from Extreme Terrain suggests that the answer may be yes.

Too Much Pedal to the Metal?

The company surveyed 1,000 American drivers to see how their music listening habits impact their driving behaviors and experience and as you might expect, the aggression of the music seemed to trigger some bad driving habits.

Drivers listening to metal ranked highly in several categories that you don’t want to rank highly in. Out of all music genres, drivers listening to metal topped the poll in honking at other drivers (25 percent of respondents), running a red light (65 percent of respondents), getting into a major car crash (28 percent of respondents) and getting a DUI (10 percent of respondents).

Drivers listening to metal also ranked highly on the potential for getting road rage. They finished fourth on the list at 26 percent. Surprisingly those listening to R&B and Soul were chosen as the genre most likely to fall prey to road rage. Speaking of road rage, one odd stat that popped up was that 23 percent of people who listen to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast while driving were also prone to road rage.

READ MORE: Study Ranks Most + Least Dangerous Songs for Driving

The survey also revealed that rock was the most popular genre to listen to while in the car. A 52 percent share of respondents picked rock as their most favorite genre. Alternative / Indie drew a 28 percent share, while Metal finished further down the list at 16 percent. So perhaps there may be fewer accidents with lesser amounts of people cranking their tunes at 11.

The survey also revealed that three out of 10 respondents felt that blasting music caused them to drive more recklessly.

But What About Your Fellow Travelers?

The study also took a glance into the behavior of your passengers when it comes to driving and music. The most annoying passenger behavior, as 40 percent of the respondents chose, was having someone change the song or station without asking. That ran neck and neck with talking loudly on the phone, which also received a 40 percent response.

For those rideshare drivers out there, it’s also time to hone your playlist skills. One key finding was the 40 percent of respondents stated that they were more likely to tip drivers if the music was good.

So to sum up, if you are rocking out to metal while driving, be a little more careful while doing so. Be sure to check out more of the insights on the Extreme Terrain driver behavior study.