The number of fatal road accident victims increases by 15% on days of highly anticipated album releases in the United States.

When you listen to the latest hit song that has just been released on platforms in your car, be extra cautious when driving. According to a study conducted by the American National Bureau of Economic Research, a private organization specializing in economic studies, the number of fatal road accidents increases by 15% when a highly anticipated album or song is released on platforms, reported by Smithsonian Magazine.

While no scientifically proven link can be established between listening to anticipated songs and the occurrence of road accidents, the numbers highlight a systemic increase in accidents on days when albums awaited by fans or the general public are released.

Co-author of the study, Vishal Patel, decided to investigate this topic after being distracted from his driving path while listening to a new song. “I realized that just one more split second without looking at the road could have led to a serious accident,” explained the clinical researcher at Harvard Medical School.

To determine if this was a general trend, Patel and his colleagues compiled data on the top ten albums with the highest number of streams on Spotify in a single day between 2017 and 2022. Among them were the latest releases from Taylor Swift, Drake, Bad Bunny, and Harry Styles, which garnered between 80 and 185 million streams on the day of their release. Taylor Swift has since surpassed these numbers with 313 million streams for her latest album in 2024.

The team observed that on the release days of these ten albums, the number of Spotify streams averaged 123.3 million, compared to an average of 86.1 million streams on the previous and subsequent ten days, representing a 40% increase.

Identifying these dates, the researchers then looked at the number of road accidents around the same time. Based on data from the American federal register of fatal accidents, they found an average of 139.1 accidents on days of highly anticipated album releases, compared to 120.9 accidents on the days before and after, marking a 15% increase in victims.

Analyzing the details of each accident, the study found that fatal accidents occurring on these musical release days mostly occurred without external disturbances, with young drivers, negative to alcohol and drugs, and alone in their vehicle.

“These results provide ‘fairly solid preliminary indications’ that the use of music streaming apps can increase the risk of accidents,” stated Johnathon Ehsani, a road safety researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in an interview with The New York Times.

“People convince themselves they can do multiple things at once while driving: plan calls, eat, do makeup,” highlighted Vishal Patel. “Smartphones have significantly expanded the range of activities possible while driving, and as cars become more connected, the temptation to divert attention will only increase.”