The most distracting Christmas songs to drive to
We've revealed the most and least distracting Christmas songs to help you avoid a fine on your festive road trip
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Ever found yourself getting a bit too involved in a Christmas singalong while behind the wheel?
The bad news is that loud music that distracts you from driving, or masks sounds like horns and sirens, could land you a fine of £100 and three points on your licence.
So, to keep you safe on the roads over the festive period, we've revealed which Christmas songs can be most distracting for drivers.
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Top 10 most distracting Christmas songs to drive to
Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens – distraction rating of 100.00
Last Christmas by Ariana Grande – distraction rating of 96.39
My Only Wish (This Year) by Britney Spears – distraction rating of 93.79
Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran – distraction rating of 92.29
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by The Jackson 5 – distraction rating of 90.68
Step Into Christmas by Elton John – distraction rating of 88.49
Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson – distraction rating of 87.97
One More Sleep by Leona Lewis – distraction rating of 87.19
You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani (feat. Blake Shelton) – distraction rating of 86.24
Cozy Little Christmas by Katy Perry – distraction rating of 86.09
Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone scored a whopping distraction rating of 100, broken up by a BPM score of 98.54, an energy score of 95.74, a loudness score of 95.24 and a danceability score of 62.35.
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How did we decide?
The Ultimate Driving Home for Christmas Playlist from Spotify was used for the study, which we made by scouring 997 playlists that mentioned ‘Christmas’ and ‘Driving’ to find the top 100 most common festive songs.
Each song was then analysed and ranked on the Spotify tool Sort Your Music for these four features:
Beats per minute (BPM) – looking for the fastest songs
Energy – songs that are more energetic
Danceability – these songs will get you wanting to show off your dance moves
Loudness – if it's loud, it's probably distracting
These factors were weighted equally to give an overall distraction score out of 100, with 100 being the most distracting.
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Top 10 least distracting Christmas songs to drive to
So, which festive hits are the least distracting to listen to when on the road with your used BMW (as long as the volume isn’t turned up too much, of course)?
Carol of the Bells by John Williams – distraction rating of 23.85
Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) by Vince Guaraldi – distraction rating of 31.48
White Christmas (1947 Version) by Bing Crosby – distraction rating of 37.80
The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) by Nat King Cole – distraction rating of 37.94
Silver Bells by Dean Martin – distraction rating of 43.12
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Michael Bublé – distraction rating of 43.58
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra – distraction rating of 43.99
Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley – distraction rating of 45.10
Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) by Elvis Presley – distraction rating of 45.47
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Bublé – distraction rating of 45.71
According to our research, the gong for the least distracting Christmas song to drive to is John Williams’ Carol of the Bells.
Carol of the Bells – well known from hit Christmas movie Home Alone – scores a distraction rating of just 23.85.
Rounding out the top three in this chart is the vocal version of Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Time Is Here from the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas and the 1947 version of White Christmas by Bing Crosby.
Festive road trip playlists
Now you've got some planning to do for your Christmas drives. Whether you're getting the last of your Christmas shopping or off to visit family, a festive soundtrack can make or break that drive.
Sam Sheehan, our motoring editor, said: “We all have our favourite Christmas tunes that get us into the festive spirit, and we’d never tell you to axe these from your playlist, just don’t turn the volume up too loud.
“Rule 148 of the Highway Code advises drivers against excessive noise in their cars that may distract them from sounds they always need to be alert to, such as emergency vehicle sirens."
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