I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I get in my car, I wonder if I should change up the music I listen too. Especially when going for long drives. I used to stick to the good old trusty radio, like Radio 1 so I’m always up to date with current music and news. But, more recently I’ve turned to podcasts, or creating playlists and then streaming them through my phone and via my car music system.
I’ve often thought that the music you listen to when behind the wheel must have an impact on your state of mind, and of course, how you drive. Recently, car manufacturer Kia published in-house data, which focused on electric cars, which shares that “real-world driving [in] electric vehicles can be influenced by music playing in the cabin”. The experiment was overseen by a leading authority in psychoacoustics and revealed that classical music, such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, could make drivers up to four times more efficient in an all-electric Kia EV6.
The research carried out by Kia, which focuses on electric cars, has made me think about the impact of music and your driving experiences. I remember hearing a similar study a few years ago, about those who listened to classical music when studying, and these recent driving findings reminded me of that.
Since hearing the research findings, I’ve been weighing up how I have felt behind the wheel, and taking note of my driving experiences lately, while listening to different playlists. I’ve decided to share them on here as a blog post, and it would be great to see if any of these experiences resonate with you, too.
Podcasts and driving experiences
For most of us, and certainly for me, there’s nothing quite like having background noise while you’re driving. For me, it helps me through the monotony – especially on long journeys, and makes my drives feel much more enjoyable. If I am going on a long drive, I try to select a podcast before I travel, as I find they can be quite educational, depending on the topics I choose. I work in marketing and social media, so I tend to select ones that share business advice and interview industry leaders, like the Bossbabe Podcast.
With the popularity of podcasts growing by the day, I hear a lot of friends say they have developed the habit of listening to podcasts while driving. However, I do feel these require more of your attention to follow along with the topic, which of course can understandably make people wonder are podcasts safe to listen to while driving? Like listening to music, listening to podcasts are considered to be a passive activity, giving lots of mental capacity for concentrating on driving and what is going on around you. However, some studies say they can be slightly more distracting while driving than music, so perhaps this should be my last option.
Classical music
I have to admit, I don’t usually chose classical for driving, except the odd occasion I’ll go through the radio stations and sometimes stop of Classic FM. But with Kia recently published in house data which reports “real-world driving [in] electric vehicles can be influenced by music playing in the cabin, it was interesting to see the findings surrounding classical.
The experiment, which was overseen by a leading authority in psychoacoustics, revealed that classical music, such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, can make drivers up to four times more efficient in an all-electric Kia EV6. After the car manufacturer investigated the effect that different music can have on a driver’s behaviour, with Kia’s findings revealing that calming music can make a motorist drive four times as efficiently than other songs.
The findings showed that Beethoven’s music ‘creates a calm, focused and balanced environment’ for participants, which for me makes me feel like this genre of music could enable the best real-world driving range. I’m not used to listening to classical when driving, but starting to wonder if I should be trying this genre when taking on my bigger drives.
Favourite songs playlists – r&b and pop
If I want to put a smile on my face and lift my mood when driving, I tend to listen to pop and r&b favourites. These are my chosen genres to cheer me up and put me in a great mood! So it’s not uncommon I pop a playlist on my music system from these genres. I do find they make me feel happier and more upbeat, and potentially more focused on the route ahead as I’m very alert when the cheery tunes are on. Harry Styles is currently on repeat at the moment!
When we’re together as a family, we do tend to enjoy putting on more chilled, acoustic type music. So we can talk occasionally in the car, but have chilled background ,music. We often put on playlists by acts like Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Adele or Jack Johnson. If I’m driving on my own or with my little girl, I can tend to try and jazz it up a little, with Taylor Swift, Usher or Beyonce. Happy-go-lucky tracks that fill me with happiness!
What music or acts do you tend to turn to when you get behind the wheel? And have you noticed a difference with your driving performance? Do feel free to share thoughts with me in the comments.
This post is a collaboration with Kia, but all thoughts and experiences are my own.
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