It’s the jolly time of the year, and the festive season playlist is waiting to bring the Christmas spirit alive! But some Christmas songs can drive you to distraction, while others make your ride a flying sledge to journey across the country.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and festive season songs can be heard everywhere you go! But there are only so many Christmas songs, and every song has thousands of remakes.
Nevertheless, these songs are bound to be heard often, which can be annoying or distract you by the catchy rhythm on the loop.
Study says that listening to songs with 50-80 Beats Per Minute (BPMs) are best known to increase productivity and concentration.
But there’s an exception for Shakin’ Stevens fans, as the song Merry Christmas Everyone has gotten a distraction score of 76%! Whereas José Feliciano and Feliz Navidad have earned a second spot for a distraction score of 75%.
How were these songs ranked?
We’ve analysed and curated the most popular festive season songs with high BPM rates, energy, emotionally charged and low danceability rates. We’ve ranked from the most ear-catching song to the most irregular beat and tempo.
Score averaging from highest to the lowest, here are the top festive season songs to avoid while driving.
Top 10 most distracting festive season songs while driving
Note: Make it a list of youtube links. Format: song number, name, artist, distraction score.
1. Merry Christmas Everyone – Remastered
Artist: Skakin’ Stevens
Distraction Score: 76.04%
2. Feliz Navidad
Artist: José Feliciano
Distraction Score: 75.07%
3. All You’re Dreaming Of
Artist: Liam Gallagher
Distraction Score: 69.05%
4. Rockin’ Robin
Artist: Micheal Jackson
Distraction Score: 67.01%
5. Oh, Santa! Ft. Ariana Grande & Jennifer Hudson
Artist: Mariah Carey
Distraction Score: 66.3%
6. Driving Home for Christmas – 2009 Remastered
Artist: Chris Rea
Distraction Score: 66.01%
7. Incredible Christmas
Artist: Gary Barlow
Distraction Score: 66.01%
8. The More You Give (The More You’ll Have)
Artist: Michael Bublé
Distraction Score: 65.08%
9. Step Into Christmas
Artist: Elton John
Distraction Score: 65.07%
10. Christmas Wrapping – (Single Edit) Remastered
Artist: The Waitresses
Distraction Score: 65.03%
Songs like Hard luck by Shakin’ Stevens, including the most popular performers, have that irregular tempo that distracts the driver while driving and hits hard to concentrate on the road.
Here’s your perfect driving home for a new year playlist!
| Rank | Song Name | Artist | Distraction % |
| 1 | All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) | Nat King Cole Trio | 13.02% |
| 2 | Baby, It’s Cold Outside | Ella Fitzgerald | 17.07% |
| 3 | The Little Drummer Boy | Bing Crosby | 19.03% |
| 4 | Walking In a Winter Wonderland | Bing Crosby | 23.06% |
| 5 | Let it Snow, Let it Snow – Recorded at Electric Lady Studios NYC | Liam Payne | 24.01% |
| 6 | Please Come Home for Christmas – 2013 Remastered | Eagles | 24.08% |
| 7 | Lonely this Christmas | Mud | 26.01% |
| 8 | Christmas Will Be Just Another Day | Brenda Lee | 26.06% |
| 9 | Oh, Santa | Kylie Minogue | 26.07% |
| 10 | It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas. | Bing Crosby | 27.02% |
The lowest distraction score of 13 is counted as the most beloved Nat King and Cole Trio for All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth). Bing Crosby has three songs from the top 10 festive season songs playlist.
The classic Little Drummer Boy counts for a distraction score of 19 for its soothing and melodic rhythm, making it one of the most beloved driving songs for this festive season!
Hit the Spotify playlist below to hop onto the perfect driving home for Christmas playlist this year.
How to stay safe while travelling during the festive season?
Music isn’t everything while driving at this wonderful time of the year. December traffic calls for a road rush, busier and quick low visibility during the day. Here are some essential tips for staying safe behind the wheel during the festive season.
- Stay Warm: Keep a blanket and an extra coat handy to stay warm in case your vehicle breakdown, and you have to wait for a roadside recovery. If your vehicle is equipped with third-party insurance, you can call help while being at a halt.
- Check your tyres: Ensure your tyre tread depth is at least 1.6mm because a flat tyre during the festive season is the last thing you want while visiting your family.
- Keep your distance: Have patience if a vehicle behind you is trying to overtake you. Keeping an adequate distance from other vehicles can make your journey less stressful and avoid any unfortunate slide-offs while constantly breaking and accelerating on the black ice.
- Using a higher gear on Ice: Using a second gear will help you maintain the grip on the icy road if you struggle to pull off. Higher gear means greater control over your vehicle.
- Inspect your headlights: You’ll experience short days and long nights in December. These days, your visibility plays a crucial part while driving, so always check your headlights before taking off your journey.
Stay Safe, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from FleetSpeak!
