Traffic deaths rise by 15% on major album release days

New research from Harvard Medical School shows that distracted driving, and consequently fatal crashes, increase on days when major albums drop.

According to an article by Adeel Hassan in The New York Times, "traffic fatalities in the United States increased by nearly 15 percent on the same days as the biggest album releases from artists like [Taylor] Swift and Bad Bunny."

The study is one way to measure the impact of distracted driving and smartphone use, Hassan explains. The researchers chose major album release days as an event when drivers are more likely to use their phones and music streaming surges. "The album release effect was stronger than just about every random date. Researchers then checked the same calendar dates in years when no major album was released and found no increase in fatalities."

The researchers suggest ways that streaming platforms like Spotify can introduce safety features, from 'nudge' notifications that encourage drivers to let passengers do the DJing to larger buttons and voice-first design.