What kind of idiot driver are you?

Published Aug 20, 2015

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By: IOL Motoring Staff

Brussels, Belgium - Psychologists have found that drivers present one - or sometimes more than one - of seven distinct driving personalities.

Research through focus groups and interviews with drivers across Europe, carried out jointly by the London School of Economics and tyre manufacturer Goodyear, indentified the different ways that drivers interact with other road users, and found that most driving behaviours fall into these seven categories:

THE TEACHER:

Needs to show others what they've done wrong and expects them to understand that he or she is doing them a favour.

THE KNOW-IT-ALL:

Is convinced he or she is surrounded by incompetent fools but just shouts at them from the sanctuary of his or her protective tin box.

THE COMPETITOR:

Needs to get ahead of all other drivers and gets annoyed when anybody gets in his or her way. Will often accelerate when you try to overtake or close a gap to prevent anybody from getting in front of them.

THE PUNISHER:

Needs to impose a psychological penalty on other drivers for what he or she sees as driving errors, sometimes to the point of getting out of the car and confronting the 'guilty' driver.

THE PHILOSOPHER:

Accepts other drivers' mistakes as 'human error' and controls frustration by trying to find rational excuses for their poor driving.

THE AVOIDER:

Treats offending drivers impersonally, equating them with other road hazards such as potholes and non-functional traffic lights.

THE ESCAPEE:

Avoids interaction with other drivers by listening to music or talking on the phone driving. Is proud that he or she has never had an accident but has witnessed a surprising number in his or her rear-view mirror.

UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT

Social psychologist Dr Chris Tennant commented: “Most of the time we can sit happily in our protective bubble, but around any corner we may have to interact with other drivers. This makes the road a challenging and uncertain social environment.

We worry about other road users driving badly - but this research suggests their behaviour may also depend on how we react.

Drivers create these different personalities as outlets to deal with frustrations and strong feelings - but they're not always one or the other. Depending on the situation, most drivers will find several of these profiles emerging.

Recognise yourself?

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