Bad drivers make good critics

[skippy]

Bad drivers make good critics, survey finds

Misty Harris
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A new nationwide study has found George Carlin was right: You believe everyone driving more slowly than you is an idiot and everyone driving faster is a maniac.

Canadian drivers are "united in their contempt for road sinners," according to the Environics survey, and the offences they detest most include impolite gestures or road rage (74 per cent), with tailgating, inflicting door dings and speeding up to prevent others from merging or passing each angering 72 per cent of respondents.

The irony is that the people complaining are the same motorists annoying other drivers with their own bad habits.

"Most Canadians will say: 'I'm a very safe and cautious driver. Everyone else out there is crazy,'" says David MacDonald, vice-president of consumer research for Environics, which conducted the 1,697-person survey for Goodyear.

But most everyone has bad habits on the road. By clustering respondents based on their frustrations with other drivers, demographics, type of vehicle owned, and personal performance, Environics's study identified the five most common "driver tribes" across the country.

The Panic Buttons (20 per cent of motorists) are predominantly "older retired females" aged 55 and older with a lower household income and a penchant for full-size vehicles. Deeply critical, this tribe is especially incensed by motorists who weave through traffic to gain one or two car lengths, drivers who indulge in road rage, and people operating vehicles unfit for the road.

Panic Buttons feel overwhelmed by their surroundings, making them prone to distraction and unpredictable behaviour.

The Mind Your Manners tribe (20 per cent) skews slightly more female than male, and is composed largely of suburban members likely to drive SUVs. They're said to have "deep annoyance" with inconsiderate motorists who steal other people's parking spots, park across two stalls, bang their car doors into other vehicles, tailgate and change lanes without signalling.

This tribe's greatest fault is its inclination to stew about other drivers' behaviour, rather than focus on their own performance.

The Fast and the Furious (20 per cent) tend to be males aged 18 to 24 who drive sporty vehicles and are bothered only by people who get in their way. Goodyear spokesperson Ian McIntosh calls this tribe's typical member "an accident waiting to happen" and warns other motorists to steer clear.

The Better Safe than Sorrys (18 per cent) are a responsible tribe split evenly by gender. On average, they're 35 to 44, with school-aged children and a minivan or pickup truck in the garage.

They're also easily angered, "acutely bothered" by motorists who disobey the speed limit, talk on their phones while driving, or run amber or red lights.

Finally, there are the Indifferents (18 per cent), made up of 58 per cent men and 42 per cent women with modest incomes ($40,000 to $60,000), homes on the suburban fringe, and ranging widely in age. Their survey scores suggest nothing bothers them at all, with below-average scores in every annoyance category.

MacDonald says this "laissez-faire" approach to the open road can actually be a burden to other motorists because it suggests the driver isn't paying attention to his or her surroundings.

The survey is considered accurate within 2.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

[The Judge]

Ice Cream Season

[skippy]

Originally Posted by The Judge

Ice Cream Season

http://cappersmall.com/forums/showpo...3&postcount=18

[Kramer]

Do Good drivers make Bad Critics ?