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Heavy metal makes you a bad driver according to a new study

Heavy metal is easily the hardest, most aggressive type of music in existence, but it might not be good to listen to while driving.

If you’ve ever been driving to some heavy tunes before and laid your foot down a little too hard on the pedal, there’s a reason why.

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A recent study shows how different types of music affect drivers behind the wheel. While classical music made drivers calm and respectful to fellow motorists, metal made drivers aggressive. Pop music, on the other hand, creates a happy medium with drivers having relatively controlled experiences.

The study was conducted using a racing simulator where the test driver drove two laps around Austria’s Red Bull Ring motorsport race track while listening to four different genres at full volume.

The driver listened to a range of genres including metal, hip-hop, classical and pop. After driving a controlled lap with no music, they then proceeded to jam out to Slipknot‘s “(sic).”

The study found the Slipknot-induced lap made the driver finish 14 seconds slower while their movements were “far more jagged.”

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The next attempt was backed by Bach’s Goldberg Variations and despite the driver’s movements being smoother, the driver was even slower and dropped to 35 mph in a 50 mph zone.

The test drive soundtracked by Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off” was the “smoothest in terms of speed consistency,” while Kendrick Lamar‘s “HUMBLE.” made the driver overshoot a stop by four car lengths.

“What is clear is that the ferocious thrash metal really reduced the ability of the driver to get around the track smoothly. That, and high-energy dance music, are designed to be felt as well as heard, and to be listened to at volume. It’s clear neither help when it comes to making exacting driving manoeuvres,” IAM RoadSmart head of technical policy Tim Shallcross said in a statement.

Although we don’t agree with their assessment of Slipknot being thrash metal, we can’t disagree with their results. Still, we’re likely not going to stop jamming out heavy tunes on the road.

What do you think of the results of this new study? Let us know in the comments below.

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