We’re getting close to the end of our music list, and today we are continuing our top ten countdown with the number four and number three songs in our list of songs that make downshifting and slowing down impossible. In case you forgot, these are the tunes that can very easily get you in trouble with traffic cops.

Blue Oyster Cult performing “Don’t Fear The Reaper.”

Number Four: Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult 

Nothing feels better from the driver’s seat than a hard-driving guitar with a catchy repetitive riff. Top that off with bulletproof lyrics that preach about not fearing death because it is inevitable, and you have a solid driving song.

This song is Blue Oyster Cult’s best-selling single that reached number 12 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1976. In 2004, the tune was also listed at number 397 on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 500 songs of all time.

I need more cowbell. Photo from www.nbc.com

Stephen King cited the song as the inspiration for his novel The Stand. Its lyrics are even quoted at the beginning of the novel. There is no doubt that anyone will ever forget the Saturday Night Live sketch that memorialized the song in April of 2000. The only thing that is lacking from making this the perfect driving song is more cowbell.

Number Three: Radar Love by Golden Earring

A song that is told from the driver’s point of view that makes it apparent that he has been driving for a while and decides to shift to the next gear at half past four.

Dutch band Golden Earring.

Radar Love, performed by the Dutch band Golden Earring, has been featured in so many soundtracks and movies, that it is almost a necessity to play it during any driving sequence. From the 1985 movie “American Flyers” to Wayne’s World 2, Radar Love is destined to be a part of the automotive world.