Revealed: The top 10 most dangerous Christmas songs to drive to

A recent study, conducted by the National Library of Medicine, has found that songs over 120 beats per minute (bpms) are linked with increased dangerous driving, inflating the risk of road accidents.

Set the scene. You’re “driving home for Christmas” and you pop on your favourite season tracks to keep you company, but did you know that while Christmas songs are designed to instil a warm, festive feeling, some can be more dangerous than others to jam along to behind the wheel.

A recent study, conducted by the National Library of Medicine, has found that songs over 120 beats per minute (bpms) are linked with increased dangerous driving, inflating the risk of road accidents.

New research from Chill Insurance has found that while Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (78bpm) is one of the safest festive songs to listen to while driving, Frosty the Snowman by Gene Autry tops the list of the most dangerous.

The light-hearted jingle, a favourite amongst children, tops the list with 172bpm, a pace which has been linked to more stressful temperaments in drivers.

Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas comes in second on the list, with the festive karaoke staple maxing out at 150bpm. You may enjoy belting it out from the passenger seat but just check on the driver to see if they’re doing okay.

The Spanish hit Feliz Navidad is another holiday favourite that has the potential to cause dangerous driving, with José Feliciano’s Yuletide jingle coming in at 149bpm.

As one of the most covered Christmas songs, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town is one of our best treasured seasonal anthems. While versions of the track from Bruce Springsteen and Michael Bublé top people’s most loved list, it’s the Jackson 5’s version of the Christmas hit that could cause a range of driving issues with a beat per minute count of 147.

The full list of Christmas’ most dangerous driving songs are below:

Song	Artist	Beats Per Minute
Frosty the Snowman	Gene Autry	172
All I Want for Christmas	Mariah Carey	150
Feliz Navidad	José Feliciano	149
Santa Clause is Comin' to Town	Jackson 5	147
Happy Xmas (War is Over)	John Lennon & Yoko Ono	146
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!	Frank Sinatra	143
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer	Gene Autry	142
I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day	Wizzard	140
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas	Judy Garland	137
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus	Jackson 5	129

While we said earlier Fairytale of New York, the unofficial anthem of Irish Christmas, is amongst the safest of festive tunes to play while driving, it is joined in the top 10 by other Christmas favourites like Santa Baby by Earth Kite (84bpm), Last Christmas by Wham (108bpm) and Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas at 115bpm.

Song	Artist	Beats Per Minute
Fairytale of New York	The Pogues	78
Santa Baby	Eartha Kitt	84
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Julie Andrews	87
Wonderful Christmastime	Paul McCartney	95
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas	Michael Bublé	95
Last Christmas	Wham	108
Winter Wonderland	Dean Martin	111
The Little Drummer Boy	Bing Crosby	113
One More Sleep	Leona Lewis	113
Do They Know It's Christmas	Band Aid	115

Whatever festive jingle you choose to listen to this Christmas, always remember to drive responsibly to make sure the holiday season is “merry and bright”.