Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine and Wonderwall by Oasis complete the top three in the playlist of 40 classic ‘vanthems’ that also includes Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, AC/DC’s Back in Black and Toto’s Africa.
Recent chart favourites making the cut include Katy Perry’s Roar, Pharrell Williams’ Happy and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson.
The research for AXA Business Insurance also found that three out of four (73%) van drivers listen to music on the radio when they are behind the wheel for work, one in three (36%) listen to CDs, 11% listen to downloaded music, ten% listen to streamed music and 6% listen to tapes. In addition, 72% regularly sing along to their favourite songs and 59% of van drivers say they listen to music to reduce stress levels and 29% sing to achieve the same.
AXA’s research also finds that van drivers may be – perhaps subconsciously – making musical choices that help reduce stress and increase driving performance.
Dr Don Knox, a specialist in music psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “The van drivers’ choices are predominantly classic, heavy rock, yet the music also tends to be upbeat, high arousal, dynamic and positive. This is likely to affect the emotional state of the driver, through a process called emotional contagion – where we mimic the emotion expressed by the music we listen to.
“In other words, the positive emotions expressed in the favoured music will have a positive emotional effect on the driver, and so can help reduce the stress associated with driving for a living.
“And while we might assume this type of loud, high arousal music could be distracting, in fact the opposite could be true.
“While loud music we don’t like can be off-putting, research shows that listening to our favourite music, loud or quiet, can increase our engagement in activities like driving and can enhance enjoyment, performance and accuracy, reduce levels of distraction, and make time pass more quickly.”
Darrell Sansom, managing director at AXA Business Insurance, added: “Congestion, road works and the behaviour of other drivers can all take their toll on anyone who has to drive all day, so it’s good to hear that listening to the music you most enjoy can help ease the stress associated with driving for work and keep you alert and in a positive mood.
“We loved learning more about the music our van drivers listen to, and the choices are upbeat to say the least.
“Of course our advice would be to enjoy but to keep the music in your van at a level where you can still hear what’s going on around you… and to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road!”
AXA’s Top 10 Driving ‘Vanthems’
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses)
- Wonderwall (Oasis)
- Sweet Home Alabama (Lynard Skynard)
- Layla (Eric Clapton)
- Streets of Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen)
- Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey)
- Thriller (Michael Jackson)
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
- Back in Black (AC/DC)
