Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens is the most distracting Christmas tune for drivers, study finds

Last updated: 2024/12/24 at 9:36 AM

Charlie Watton

3 Min Read

A stock image of cars driving through a street decorated in fairy lights. (Picture: Jam Press)

Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens is the most distracting Christmas tune for drivers, a study has found.

Experts have looked into the festive tracks most likely to distract motorists.

The 1985 track got a maximum rating of 100.

It is due to its BPM score of 98.54, an energy score of 95.74, a loudness score of 95.24 and a danceability score of 62.35.

Rule 148 of the Highway Code advises drivers against excessive noise in their cars.

Loud music may distract them from sounds on the road that they always need to be alert to – such as emergency vehicle sirens.

Those found guilty could face a £100 fine.

According to a study conducted by Cinch, Last Christmas by Ariana Grande was second with a distraction rating of 96.39.

Britney Spears’ My Only Wish (This Year) scored 93.79.

Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran had a distraction score of 92.29, closely followed by Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by The Jackson 5 with 90.68.

Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at Cinch, said: “We all have our favourite Christmas tunes that get us into the festive spirit.

“And we’d never tell you to axe these from your playlist, just don’t turn the volume up too loud.

“Plan out the music you want to listen to before you set off as well.

“You can distract yourself a lot when driving by constantly tuning into different radio stations or skipping songs every few minutes.”

The full list, as reported by What’s The Jam is…

The top 10 most distracting Christmas tunes for 2024 are as follows:
Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens – distraction rating of 100.00
Last Christmas by Ariana Grande – distraction rating of 96.39
My Only Wish (This Year) by Britney Spears – distraction rating of 93.79
Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran – distraction rating of 92.29
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by The Jackson 5 – distraction rating of 90.68
Step Into Christmas by Elton John – distraction rating of 88.49
Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson – distraction rating of 87.97
One More Sleep by Leona Lewis – distraction rating of 87.19
You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani (feat. Blake Shelton) – distraction rating of 86.24
Cozy Little Christmas by Katy Perry – distraction rating of 86.09