It's official: Right-handed people are better drivers.
A study has found that left-handed drivers are more likely to get a speeding fine and cause more accidents. They are, however, more likely to pass their driving test at their first attempt.
Researchers found that lefties get 50 per cent more speeding fines than right-handed motorists, are more likely to get parking fines, and more likely to be involved in major accidents.
Some 28 percent of left-handers said they had received a speeding fine, compared to 19 percent of right-handers. And 26 percent of left-handers have received a parking fine compared to 23 percent of right-handers.
Left-handers are involved in more serious car accidents – having an average of nine significant incidents during their 60-year ‘driving life-time’, compared to eight for right-handed motorists. The study, commissioned by Privilege Car Insurance, concluded: "Right-handers rule the road. Right-handed people are better drivers than their left-handed counterparts."
But it added: "Overall, though, left-handers are more likely to pass their test first time round. They also tend to have fewer minor bumps and scratches in the car than right-handers."
Famous southpaws
Figures suggest one in seven people favour their left-hand over their right.
A 2016 study by psychologists from the UK and Italy found that left-handers are better at maths. Academic studies have also noted a disproportionately high number of artists, scientists, musicians and sportsmen are left-handed – including Barack Obama, David Cameron, Sir Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix, Julius Caesar, Michelangelo, Pele, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie are among the ranks of left-handers.
Psychologist Becky Spelman said: "When it comes to driving, it’s likely that both cars and road furniture in the form of signs, roundabouts, and more, have all been designed with an unconscious bias in favour of the right-handed driver."