The Most Dangerous Irish Songs To Drive To

The public holiday we’ve all been waiting for is almost here - St Patrick’s Day on March 17th. If your St. Patrick’s Day plans involve driving, Chill are here to lend a helping hand when it comes to choosing your driving music. Analysing some of the most well-known songs by Irish musicians, we’ve discovered the most dangerous songs to listen to whilst driving, to help make your driving harmonious.

Looking for something to over the St. Patrick's Day bank holiday weekend? Here are our top things to do this March.

A recent scientific study found that listening to songs with a BPM of 120 and over can negatively impact your ability to drive safely.

The top 20 distracting Irish songs to drive to

Rank	Artist	Song	BPM
1	The Nolan Sisters	I’m in the Mood for Dancing	211
2	The Script	For the First Time	174
3	The Cranberries	Zombie	167
4	The Script	Superheroes	167
5	Flogging Molly	Drunken Lullabies	156
6	Van Morrison	Brown-Eyed Girl	151
7	The Rumjacks	An Irish Pub Song	147
8	The Boomtown Rats	I Don't Like Mondays	144
9	The Tossers	The Rocky Road to Dublin	143
10	U2	Sweetest Thing	129
11	The Dubliners & The Pogues	The Irish Rover	141
12	U2	Vertigo	140
13	U2	Beautiful Day	136
14	The High Kings	The Rocky Road to Dublin	135
15	Dropkick Murphys	Finnegan's Wake	135
16	Damien Rice	The Blower's Daughter	133
17	Dropkick Murphys	I'm Shipping up to Boston	129
18	The Cranberries	Dreams	129
19	Hozier	Take Me to Church	129
20	Westlife	Uptown Girl	129

I’m in the Mood for Dancing - The Nolan Sisters

It may put you in the mood for a dance, but the hit pop anthem ‘I’m in the Mood for Dancing’ by The Nolan Sisters can negatively affect your mood for safe driving. The song’s BPM of 211 can be linked to more reckless driving, studies have shown. Released in 1979 the pop hit reached number two on the Irish charts, becoming the Dublin-born sisters’ biggest hit. However, we’ve discovered that it’s actually the most dangerous Irish song to drive to.



For the First Time - The Script

The Irish pop-rock band’s number one hit ‘For the First Time’ is the second most dangerous Irish song to drive to, our study revealed. Released in 2010, it became an instant classic, but the song’s high BPM of 174 is well over the safe threshold of 120 BPM. Try one of The Script’s slower songs for your next car singalong.



Zombie - The Cranberries

We found that The Cranberries’ iconic 90’s song ‘Zombies’ is the third most dangerous Irish song to drive to. With a BPM of 167, the alternative-rock band’s global hit, which won the Best Song Award at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards has one of the highest BPMs in our study.



Superheroes - The Script

In joint third is The Script’s 2014 anthem ‘Superheroes’ with a BPM of 167. Despite the uplifting lyrics and message behind the song, research has shown that its high BPM can encourage reckless driving habits such as frequent lane changes and higher speeds. With The Script appearing twice in our top five - it may be best to leave listening to the boy band for shower singalongs!



Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly

Named after their 2002 album, the song ‘Drunken Lullabies’ by Irish-American band Flogging Molly is the fifth most dangerous song by an Irish artist to drive to. With a BPM of 156, listening to the punk anthem can cause aggressive driving, according to scientific research.

The top 20 safest Irish songs to drive to

Rank	Artist	Song	BPM
1	Westlife	What Makes a Man	69
2	Westlife	Flying Without Wings	73
3	Luke Kelly	Song for Ireland	75
4	Snow Patrol	Run	75
5	Chris de Burgh	Lady in Red	77
6	Corrs	What Can I Do	78
7	Ronan Keating	If Tomorrow Never Comes	79
8	Thin Lizzy	The Boys Are Back In Town	81
9	Enya	Only Time	83
10	Luke Kellys	On Raglan Road	86
11	B*WITCHED	Blame it on the Weatherman	90
12	The Chieftains & Sinead O'Connor	The Foggy Dew	91
13	Boyzone	No Matter What	93
14	The Script	Breakeven	94
15	Westlife	World of our Own	97
16	The Script	The Man Who Can’t be Moved	100
17	U2	Sunday Bloody Sunday	101
18	Celtic Woman	Danny Boy	101
19	Snow Patrol	Chasing Cars	104
20	Westlife	I Have a Dream	105

Westlife fans can rejoice - the early-noughties boy band are the safest Irish artist to listen to whilst driving, with four of their hits appearing in the top 20. Their slow tempo ballads are perfect for a non-distracting driving trip, along with hits from Snow Patrol and Luke Kelly.

However you decide to spend this St. Patrick’s Day be sure to stay safe wherever you are. Let Chill help you avoid the annual insurance dance, making your car insurance journey a great deal easier.

Methodology

Chill analysed a range of songs by Irish artists, which featured in ‘most popular Irish song’ articles. The beats per minute (BPM) of each song was then recorded, with the songs being ranked from the highest BPM to the lowest.

The basis of the study used findings from the South China University of Technology which discovered that songs with a BPM of 120 are linked to more dangerous driving behaviours due to the cardiovascular, physiological and psychological impact. Discover the study in further detail.