How Valentine’s Stress Can Cause Car Accidents

NHTSA traffic safety reports confirm that fatal car accidents are 4% more likely on Valentine’s Day (compared to an average day). But what are the reasons for the hike?

This study will look at what determines heightened Valentine’s Day road danger: in particular, the potentially fatal role emotionally stirring music has on drivers. We’ll look at gender and age differentials, and consider the specific pieces of music that hit driving listeners hardest – affecting their emotional state, and increasing their chances of a crash.

Let’s first consider key statistics across consecutive Valentine’s Days over a five-year study period.

How Cupid’s Arrow Can Be Deadly For Drivers

According to key FARS data, there were 405 crash fatalities over five Valentine’s Days between 2019 and 2023. Here’s a breakdown of each year’s fatality figures.

According to FARS data, from 2019-2023, during the Month of February, a total of 61 crash fatalities were a result of an emotionally distracted driver.

Here are the February distracted driver fatality figures for each of the five years in question (February, along with January, typically features the lowest road crash count each year.)

During this period, Valentine’s Day saw 14 fatalities caused by a distracted driver who was inattentive or lost in thought, a clearly disproportionate number across the full month.

Overall, 2020 suffered the highest number of Valentine’s Day fatalities (101). That year, 12 February crash fatalities were due to an emotionally distracted driver, half of which occurred on Valentine’s Day. 

Driving while in an emotional state is common among U.S. drivers. In fact, a March 2025 study revealed that 62% of Americans (47% male, 76% female) have cried while in their car.

Here are some of the other key differentiators within the driver dataset. In each case, the percentage refers to the total number of people per specific survey group who responded ‘yes’ when asked if they’d cried while in their car.

In terms of political affiliation, the percentage of those who voted for either primary candidate during the last (2024) U.S. Presidential election who also say they have cried while in their car was as follows:

• Kamala Harris: 73%
• Donald Trump: 59%

Crucially, among Americans canvassed as part of the study, 11% said they were likely to shed a tear in their car while listening to sad music. And that’s bad news for car safety.

Additionally, drivers who experience strong emotions like crying, anger, or agitation are 10 times more likely to crash than calm drivers (according to a VTTI study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

The study found that highly emotional drivers are far more likely to do the following.

• Fail to spot danger, such as abruptly slowing traffic or road debris. 
• React quickly enough to avoid road issues.
• Drive dangerously: for example, cut across several lanes or pass other cars in a careless, potentially illegal manner.
• Feel completely detached from other drivers, vehicles, and road conditions.

The consequences are predictable. Highly emotional drivers were a significant part of the reported 400,000 accidents caused by distracted driving in 2024. Such crashes often involve rear-end collisions, sideswipes, or accidents caused by drivers switching lanes.

And according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, in-vehicle driver distraction, such as music, is responsible for 25% of traffic accidents.

Another study completed by London Metropolitan University found that drivers listening to songs over 120 BPM (beats per minute) were more likely to increase their speed by 10-20 MPH, break speed limits, and suddenly switch lanes, while those listening to softer, slower music were generally more likely to observe cautious road behavior.

High-energy, emotionally-charged songs (such as ‘golden oldies’ or those that provoke nostalgic memories) increase cognitive distraction, and therefore pull attention away from the road, with 60% of drivers admitting that music affects their driving style.

And a study by University College London found that songs featuring lyrics can further reduce a driver’s ability to concentrate on complex tasks (like navigating unfamiliar roads) by up to 25% (compared to instrumental music). It’s not just the emotional content of the songs in question: drivers singing along to lyrics further pulls their attention from the task at hand.

But which songs affect drivers the most? The following list of songs are drawn from a full list of 125 emotionally-charged songs (which we’ve included at the end of this study).

This group of 10 titles represents the most provocative songs in the dataset: those that feature not only emotive lyrical content but also an extremely high BPM rating.

The 10 Most Dangerous Songs to Drive to When Emotional

London Metropolitan University study data confirms that by listening to loud or fast-paced music, drivers compromise their reaction times by up to 20%. Unsurprisingly, this increases their accident risk to an extent that’s comparable to a driver taking the wheel after consuming alcohol.

Conversely, research also suggests that music adhering to the human heartbeat range (60 to 80 beats per minute) is linked to less aggressive driving behavior than faster music.

Here are 10 examples from our list of 125 emotionally-charged songs that don’t exceed 80 BPM. While they represent less implicit speed-based road danger, it’s important to point out that all emotional songs are nonetheless potentially distracting. Despite their low BPM, the following songs are also the most likely to induce tearfulness, in itself highly distracting.

The 10 Safest Love Songs to Drive to When Emotional

Relevant study data also suggests that a slightly increased BPM range (80-100) represents a proportionately increasing drain on driver focus.

Here are some examples of emotional songs that, although not yet in a hugely dangerous BPM range, are still potentially distracting.

Relatively Safe Emotional Love Songs For Drivers

The Danger of Emotional Driving

Even under neutral emotional conditions, driving is challenging and demands full focus and reactive performance. But driving while emotional takes vital focus away from the road.

If, as a driver, you’re subject to distracting thoughts or feelings, you’re less likely to anticipate changing road conditions, suddenly stopping vehicles, or pedestrians, and more likely to increase your driving speed and drive more dangerously.

During the period in question, Valentine’s Day saw 14 fatalities caused by a distracted driver who was inattentive or lost in thought, a clearly disproportionate number

Recent research tells us that listening to sad music while at the wheel often means emotional, dangerous driving. While slower, softer songs can help focus, they can also exacerbate car sickness symptoms, and emotionally stirring songs of any intensity level can increase the danger factor. Additionally, fast, emotionally-upsetting music in particular can mean a driver is ten times more likely to crash.

Ultimately, Valentine’s Day drivers are more likely to be distracted, upset, and ultimately suffer a road accident than those driving during other winter days. Study data confirms a 4% rise in road incidents and more crashes linked to emotional distraction and inattention than at any other time in February.

So, if you really want to listen to that special sad song – on Valentine’s or any other day – it might be best to do so at home, or at least park in a safe spot if a wave of emotion overcomes you while you’re at the wheel.

After a car accident, you shouldn’t have to cope with injuries, bills, and pushy insurance adjusters when the accident wasn’t your fault. With over 20 years of experience, Suzuki Law Offices can be the lifeline you need. Let our Phoenix personal injury lawyers fight for the full and fair compensation you deserve. Call today!

(NOTE: here’s our full list of 125 emotionally-charged love songs ranked by BPM, from slowest to fastest.)