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Research

Study links major album releases to rise in US traffic fatalities

A new study in JAMA Network Open found US traffic fatalities rose 15.1% on the release days of 10 major albums, pointing to smartphone-related distracted driving.

AI News Feed · 2026-08-18 05:00

Dr Vishal Patel of Harvard Medical School and colleagues focused on album releases because they create a national spike in smartphone use unrelated to road conditions. “Album releases give you something closer to an experiment – a day when smartphone use jumps nationally for reasons that have nothing to do with road conditions, weather or who happens to be driving,” Patel said.

The albums included Taylor Swift’s Midnights, released on 21 October 2022, Drake’s Scorpion on 29 June 2018, and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House on 20 May 2022. The study found that streaming volume for the top 200 songs in the US was 43% higher on the date of major album releases than on surrounding days, though the data does not reveal whether the music was played in a car.

Using a population-based registry of fatal US crashes, the researchers compared the number of traffic fatalities on the 10 release dates with the 10 days before and after each release. They adjusted for day of the week, federal holidays and time of year. The authors add that the rise in traffic fatalities was greater among younger drivers, male drivers, people driving alone and people driving vehicles with built-in infotainment platforms.

Patel said accessing music is a search task, not a single button press. “You unlock the phone, open the app, find the release, read down a tracklist, tap the right song. That’s several seconds of looking at a screen,” he said. He added that unfamiliar music demands more attention and that research has suggested high-energy new music can degrade driving performance.

The authors say the results suggest that online music streaming through smartphones may significantly contribute to distracted driving and traffic fatalities, but they acknowledge the study does not directly investigate whether smartphone use was involved in the fatalities. Patel suggested streaming platforms could add a reminder when promoting forthcoming albums: “A line about setting your music up before you drive would cost them nothing.” He also advised drivers to prepare their music before moving. “Pick the album, hit play, put the phone down. If someone’s in the passenger seat, hand it to them – the increase showed up almost entirely among drivers who were alone.”