How to avoid crashing your car: Pump down the volume and put a slow song on the stereo

Drivers who listen to fast music are twice as likely to take risks and make errors as those listening to slower tracks on their stereos.

Researchers used a simulator to test the reactions of 28 students, each with an average of seven years' driving experience. They found that music of any sort dulled the reactions, with heart rates fluctuating less when listening and driving – suggesting that people were distracted by the music.

The best course of action, according to Dr Warren Brodsky, who is a research fellow in Music Science at Ben Gurion University in Israel, is to turn down the volume of any in-car music and try – where possible – to switch to slower tracks.

In the experiment, the music tempo varied from a chilled-out 60 beats per minute to a club-style 120bpm. Drivers listening to fast music took more risks, such as jumping red lights, and had more accidents. They were more than twice as likely to have collisions than those listening to slow or medium-paced music, according to the study, published in today's New Scientist magazine.

Earlier research found a link between the volume of in-car music and dangerous driving: louder music was linked to worse driving. But Dr Brodsky wondered whether tempo might also have an effect. Although the results might be different in a real car from his experiment, the findings should "be taken seriously," he said.

The results have changed Dr Brodsky's own attitude to in-car music. "I could hardly control myself with some of the pieces. It was difficult taking my foot off the gas pedal," he said. "I'm now more careful in my choice of music."

Roger Vincent, of Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, called for more research into factors that affect drivers' concentration. The top cause of accidents is still reckoned to be direct distractions – with children and mobile phones rating among the highest.