Traditionally ‘whacky’
cars, such as old beetles and mini coopers, may have a significant advantage in
beating traffic queues during rush hour as one fifth of drivers are more likely
to give way to them, according to an AA-Populus poll of 17,629 motorists.
However ‘car
envy’ seems to affect one in five drivers admitting they are actually less
likely to give way to an expensive luxury car.
‘Boy racers’
Some drivers seem to actively want to slow down ‘boy racers’ as 5% admit that they would be more likely to drive slowly if the driver behind them was wearing a baseball cap.
Males are
twice as likely as females to act in this manner.
Elderly
Almost half
of drivers (47%) say they would leave more space in front if following a car
being driven by someone elderly.
Younger drivers
and those living in the South-East and South-West are most likely to give more
space.
Learners
More
worrying are the 19% who get impatient when following learner drivers and
surprising the group most likely to get impatient are the third of young
drivers.
Perhaps
breaking the stereotype, women are more likely to get impatient with learns
than men.
Other findings
When it
comes to the hierarchy of cars the poll also found that:
- Younger drivers are more likely to tailgate smaller cars.
- Only 1% avoid parking next to better cars. However, a higher proportion of 24-34 year olds and those in Northern Ireland try to avoid parking next to expensive cars.
- Just 2% try to keep up with or overtake sports cars. But 15% of 18-24 year olds do try to take on sports cars.
Edmund King,
AA president, said: “There are lots of urban myths about car hierarchies that
we wanted to test. The research shows that some drivers are more considerate to
others depending on the type of car or type of driver. It seems that a trilby wearing
driver in a classic car will be given more slack that one wearing a baseball
cap in a sports car or 4x4.”
“Perhaps the
most worrying trait is that 19% of drivers and one third of young drivers get
impatient when learner drivers. Younger drivers, in particular, should have
recent memories of what it is what like driving with L plates. Our AA and BSM
driving instructors do raise this issue.”
“Although
reassuring that almost half of drivers would not tailgate elderly drivers, it
does beg the question as to why tailgate any driver? Driving too close to the
car in front is the biggest danger on our motorways no matter what the age of
the driver or indeed type of car.”
“Our advice
is to forget the age of driver or type of car and remember we are all humans
who should be treated with respect rather than rage on the roads.”
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