A new scientific study claims to have identified which popular radio and podcast hosts are most likely to distract a driver when they’re listening behind the wheel.
And it’s not good news if you listen to Heart Radio on a Saturday afternoon or Virgin Radio’s breakfast show.
That’s because former Only Way is Essex star turned DJ, Mark Wright, and ex Big Breakfast presenter Chris Evans, have been named the joint most likely hosts to put you off when driving.
Tune in or turn off? A new study claims to have used science to determine who are the most distracting radio and podcast hosts to listen to when behind the wheel
The rankings have been decided by a piece of research carried out by Scrap Car Comparison based upon the scientific theories of voice psychology.
It analysed the voices of 61 of the leading radio and podcasts hosts to rank them in order of distraction.
It used literature on the psychology of voices as a basis for the study, with 18 different researchers analysing the acoustic measures of different hosts’ voices including: the pitch of the speaker (how high or low their voice sounds), the speech rate (how fast someone is talking) and how many fillers they use (‘um’s’ and ‘ah’s).
As part of the research, participants also provided ratings on how distracting and annoying they found each host, and these average ratings were combined with the acoustic measures to provide an overall distraction percentage out of 100.
And it’s reality TV star Mark Wright, who hosts Heart Radio’s Saturday slot between 4pm and 7pm, who topped the rankings.
Wright received an overall distraction percentage of 84 per cent, having scored highly on acoustic measures as well as listener ratings.
Virgin Radio’s Chris Evans was deemed equal most distracting, also with a score of 84 per cent.
Mark Wright, who has a slot on Heart Radio on Saturdays between 4pm and 7pm, is ranked joint first as the most distracting radio or podcast host to listen to behind the wheel in a study
Chris Evans, who fronts the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio weekday mornings was ranked alongside Wright as being the most distracting DJ when behind the wheel
American broadcaster Howard Stern rounded out the top three in terms of most distracting radio and podcast hosts
Howard Stern, American broadcaster and media personality, who is known for his self-titled radio show ‘The Howard Stern Show’ ranked in third spot, with a score of 75 per cent, while English radio host Sonny Jay (Capital UK), and podcaster and ex Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews (Big Fish podcast) rounded off the top five, each with a distraction score of 72 per cent.
Some of the UK’s most popular personalities and hosts including James Acaster, Greg James and Rylan Clark also ranked in the top ten, thanks to high scores on acoustic measures of pitch, speaker speed and fillers, combined with listener ratings on how distracting their voice is.
In addition to looking at the most distracting voices, the research also found the popular host voices which are least likely to distract people on the roads – and some of the world’s most recognised podcasters including Jay Shetty (On Purpose podcast) and Mel Robbins (The Mel Robbins Podcast) ranked in the top three.
Jordan North, radio and podcast host and star, who is due to take over as the new host of Capital Breakfast this month after leaving BBC Radio One, ranked as the fifth least distracting host, scoring a low 30 per cent.
North was followed by American radio personality and comedian Adam Carolla, host of The Adam Carolla Show, who also scored the favourable 30 per cent.
Rounding off the top ten included beloved Irish TV and radio host Graham Norton and ex-radio host and podcaster Fearne Cotton, who presents the hugely popular wellness podcast Happy Place.
Studies in the US suggest that radio still reigns supreme for listening in cars, but streaming and podcasts are starting to catch up
Despite the growth in popularity of streaming services and the introduction of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allowing drivers to tap into music applications, the car is still the one place where radio still reigns supreme, studies have shown.
According to Edison Research, 73 per cent of American drivers listen to the radio while in the car, making it the number 1 audio source on US roads.
David Kottaun, operations manager at Scrap Car Comparison, says listening to the wrong radio station or podcast while driving ‘could compromise your safety on the road’.
‘Millions of us around the world will turn to our favourite podcasts and radio show hosts for some company, and for something to keep us entertained while sat in traffic, or on a long drive,’ David explained.
‘However, it’s clear that listening to some popular hosts may in fact be too distracting for some drivers – and could compromise their safety on the roads.’
He added: ‘Having statistically analysed the results from the study, our research found that voices which were rated as both annoying and distracting correlated highly, meaning that annoying voices were also perceived as distracting – proving that if you have a gripe with a particular radio or podcast host, it might be advisable to switch to a different station.
‘This study has provided a small insight into the types of voices which could distract drivers on the roads, however more comprehensive research would need to be undertaken to get conclusive findings about what exactly makes a voice annoying or distracting.’
Do you agree – or disagree – with the results of this one piece of research? Let us know which radio or podcast host you think is most distracting in the comments section below.
