There’s something irresistible about a long-awaited album finally appearing on your streaming app. You want to hear the first track, check the tracklist, skip to a favourite, turn up the volume — maybe all while you're already on the road. That excitement may have a darker side. A new study published in JAMA Network Open found that traffic fatalities were 15.1 per cent higher on major album-release days, when music streaming surged. The researchers say the findings suggest that smartphone-based music streaming may contribute to distracted driving. A near-miss sparked the study The research began with a personal experience for lead study author Vishal Patel, MD, MPH, a resident physician at Mass General Brigham and clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. After an album release, Patel’s wife texted him recommendations for new Taylor Swift songs. “I was driving, started scrolling through Spotify to find them, and looked up to find myself drifting out of my lane,” he was quoted as saying. The incident made him wonder whether major music releases — moments when millions of people may suddenly reach for their phones — could show up in national traffic data. “I realized nobody had looked at album release days, which are one of the few moments when millions of people reach for their phones at once for something other than texting,” he said. What the study found Researchers analysed 233,809 US traffic fatalities recorded between 2017 and 2022, using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the national registry of fatal motor-vehicle crashes. They focused on the 10 most-streamed albums released during that period, examining traffic fatalities during the 10 days before and after each release. The study used a quasi-experimental event design and adjusted for factors including day of the week, federal holidays, week of the year and calendar year. The albums included major releases from Taylor Swift, Drake, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles and Kanye West. The streaming numbers were dramatic. On the release days, daily streams of the top 200 songs on the study's streaming platform increased from an average of 86.1 million to 123.3 million — a 43 per cent jump. And traffic fatalities rose at the same time. The researchers estimated the following: 139.1 adjusted traffic fatalities on major album-release days 120.9 fatalities on the surrounding comparison days An absolute increase of 18.2 fatalities A 15.1 percent relative increase in traffic fatalities Approximately 182 excess fatalities across the 10 album-release days studied The researchers observed an average increase of 18.2 fatalities when comparing the release days with the surrounding control days. The increase in fatalities was larger among younger drivers and men. It was also more pronounced in crashes involving a single occupant, sober drivers, clear weather and vehicles equipped with infotainment systems. Those details are particularly interesting because they don’t fit with the idea that album releases simply lead to more parties, alcohol or nighttime driving. The researchers also found that the increase remained when they looked specifically at Friday releases — important because many major albums are released on Fridays. Does listening to heady music affect driving ability? Not necessarily. Dr Saurabh Mehrotra, Director of Psychiatry and Mental Health at Medanta Gurugram, says the relationship between music and driving is much more nuanced. “Music can influence the way we drive, but the relationship is more nuanced than simply saying that pop music increases the risk of accidents,” he says. The key factors, he explains, are arousal, attention and cognitive load. Driving already requires the brain to continuously monitor traffic, pedestrians, signals, other vehicles and unexpected hazards. “Adding another stimulating activity can stretch that limited attentional capacity. Fast-paced, emotionally engaging or personally meaningful music may increase arousal and, in some circumstances, influence driving behaviour. But music isn’t inherently harmful. For some drivers, familiar music can reduce boredom and fatigue on long, predictable journeys,” he explains. Streaming turns listening into a task Listening to a playlist is one thing. Searching for a brand-new album is another. You unlock the phone. Open the app. Scroll through the tracklist. Pick a song. Skip it. Check the title. Search for another track. “Each action competes with driving. When drivers search for songs, scroll through streaming platforms or change tracks, the brain has to process a secondary task while continuing to monitor the road. That creates competition for attention and can increase the time needed to perceive and respond to hazards,” says Dr Mehrotra. Experimental research has also found that music-selection tasks can increase eyes-off-road time and affect lane-keeping, he notes. Why a new album may be more distracting There is also something psychologically different about unfamiliar music. A playlist you’ve heard dozens of times can fade into the background. You know the songs, the lyrics and the rhythm. A new release demands attention. That novelty can make the listening experience more cognitively engaging — precisely when the driver needs the road to command attention. “Especially if you are driving at top speed, seconds matter,” says Dr Mehrotra. The smartest playlist is the one you set before driving A practical way, according to Dr Mehrotra, is to set the playlist before starting the journey. “Playlists should be set before the journey so that once the vehicle is moving, the road remains the primary focus. If you’re travelling with someone, let the passenger handle the music. If your vehicle supports voice commands, use them where appropriate rather than reaching for a screen. And if you've been waiting months for that new album, consider giving it your full attention somewhere other than the driver’s seat,” he suggests.
