These are the songs most likely to distract you while driving – and the ones that won’t

New research has ranked Australia’s most-streamed songs by how distracting they are behind the wheel, and the results might make you rethink your driving playlist. Fred Again, Skepta, and Plaqueboymax’s“Victory Lap”has been crowned the most distracting song for drivers, currently topping the Australian charts. The collaborative track scored 8.64 on a distraction index that weighed four key audio characteristics, beats per minute (BPM), energy, danceability and loudness against one another to produce an overall score.

“Victory Lap” led the pack on danceability, scoring 89 out of 100, while also clocking in at 140 BPM and a loudness of -3 dB, placing it equal second among the loudest tracks in the rankings. and Kaitlin Aragon, an electronic dance track notable for its AI-generated vocals, which scored 7.91. The track’s high loudness (-3 dB) and strong energy rating of 82 out of 100 pushed it firmly into distraction territory.

Tied for third with an index score of 7.50 are sombr’s “12 to 12” and Taylor Swift’s “Opalite“. The former achieved a near-perfect energy score of 90 out of 100, while Swift’s track, lifted from her latest albumThe Life of a Showgirl, ranked highly for both energy (82 out of 100) and danceability (81 out of 100). It’s a habit most drivers don’t think twice about, queuing up a favourite playlist before pulling out of the driveway.

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But according to a study by car insurance comparison service iSelect, that routine could be quietly working against road safety. The study analysed Australia’s current top 50 songs on Spotify, scoring each track across BPM, energy, danceability and loudness to determine which were most likely to pull a driver’s attention away from the road.

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