Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

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  1

  benoddo

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  Oh that's just great! Now give all the idiots on the road a genetic excuse for driving badly. Don't stop to consider that all that technology crammed into the dashboard these days contributes to the problem of the ever diminishing drivers' ability to operate a vehicle in a safe and responsible manner.
  
  

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  2

  shanedr

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  Benoddo, there is not a single device installed in a vehicle that
  contributes to bad driving. People can however try to use one or more
  devices at the wrong time which will reveal how bad a driver they are.
  Bottom line: Bad drivers unsafely operate vehicles.
  
  I wish there was a way to identify those bad drivers genetically. That
  way my insurance premiums wouldn't reflect their bad driving.

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  3

  bob@...

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  That doesn't mean that with proper training they can't be better drivers than the majority that have no more than "dad" or HS Driver's ED traing. It is a matter ofrecognizing talents and/or deficiencies and traing based on that

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  4

  rivardau

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  if there is a genetic basis, then tests can be done and licenses can be refused for those people.
  
  if 30% of current drivers are no longer allowed to drive, then perhaps our society will make more and better improvements in mass transportation and sustainable transport like buses, trains, and bikes.
  
  the key that everyone forgets in transportation is that it should be focused on mobility, not just on driving. we already have 30% of population that dont drive, such as everyone under 16, blind people, some elderly people, and people who dont or cant buy a car.
  
  and there are many people that should NOT be driving, such as when on medication temporarily, after broken bones, after surgery, while drunk or on drugs, or while multitasking such as watching a movie or texting.
  
  if 30% of current drivers joined the 30% of general population that cant drive, that would make over 60% of population as non-drivers, and then the majority can justify bus, train, bike, and ADA investments that help everyone, not just drivers.

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  5

  Hate Malware

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  There is a simple genetic test that insurers could use, if male = OK. female = Fail. Figures quoted by women to try and prove they are the better drivers usually are supplied by insurers, this only proves women make less claims then men and probably by getting their partner to claim for their damage on his insurance. "Oh honey the dent was there when i came out of the shop" or "someone must have done it with a shopping trolley" Yeah right girls!

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  6

  askmelea@...

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  I'm not convinced on the scientific validity yet. How about a follow up study on NASCAR drivers to determine the % with the variant. And if valid; naturally a very high % of Amtrack conductors would have the variant.

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  7

  JTF243@...

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  Genetic tests? Bad idea

  rivardau - What you are suggesting is just another way to discriminate against someone.
  How eager are you to get tested? Perhaps YOU will turn out to be one of those with a genetic trait that will be used against you to deny your driving privileges. Or maybe it will be a trait for a heart condition and they will deny you insurance coverage. Or do you have the genetic predisposition to be a psychopathic murderer (like in "Minority Report").
  So, when are YOU going to be tested?

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  8

  darije.djokic@...

  11/02/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  What about above-average drivers?

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  9

  Greenknight_z

  11/03/09 | Report as spam

  Only 20% worse

  This gene variant only makes them 20% less talented at driving than those without it. The really bad drivers are a lot worse than that.

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  10

  wescohmb

  11/03/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  I deffinetly think people are making quick decisions on this study. The people sitting on here right now COULD be the ones with this genetic mutation.
  
  I think the best solution would be to test everyone when getting a license, and they can have higher insurance premiums.
  
  and for the person who made the male/female joke..I think you have it backwards considering women have much lower insurance rates than men. Women can have normal adult rates at 25 while men have to wait until they are 30 to have that dropped. I think it's obvious what statisitcs are saying there.
  
  And I agree with Greenknight. The True bad drivers drive much worse than 20% less..
  
  lets stay on topic guys!
  

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  11

  Normal_z

  11/03/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  It seems that the study tested skill in the mechanics of driving while most accidents are caused by poor judgment and not insufficient skill.

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  12

  Darmananda

  11/04/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  Bad drivers are not born; they are just plain arrogant, stupid, ignorant, irresponsible, selfish, and inconsiderate about how their driving affects other drivers on the road. If you are going to claim that bad drivers have bad-driving gene, then you must first prove also that arrogant, irresponsible, selfish, and inconsiderate people are also born, not made.
  
  When I took the road-test in St. Louis, MO, it was quite difficult for me to pass the test since I was new to the whole driving thing. What I don't get is, do people pretend to be good drivers during the driving tests and that's that? People make rolling-stops in St. Louis at stop signs. No one EVER comes to a complete stop at a stop sign, unless there is someone already there on the other side of the intersection with a left-turn signal. This just bothers me because stop means stop, not slow down and go. I really can't stand the rolling stop culture which seems to be the norm here in St. Louis. There's a danger of being rear-ended by someone because they are not actually expecting me to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, and if this driver behind me is talking on his cell phone, the danger of my being tail-ended increases. You see automobile accident deaths on local news everyday here in St. Louis, and yet I am shocked to see how many people are on their cell phones without headsets while they are driving. I am telling you; even the police (while their sirens not turned on) do rolling stops at stop signs. I have observed this and telling you form my experience.
  
  Other bad drivers that bother me are people who tailgate on a 25 mph two lane hilly roads with double yellow lines. I am maybe going a couple of miles above the speed limit (this area is known for giving out speeding tickets), there are stop signs every block, and there are hills (hence the double yellow lines). They know that they can't pass me (even if they decide to ignore the double yellow lines, they will hardly be able to see the oncoming traffic from downhill) and they know I can't go any faster. So why are they on my tail? It is not like I am doing 25 mph on a 40 mph road or anything. Regardless, there is always someone on my tail, RIGHT ON MY TAIL. It is even worse at night, someone with a giant pickup with their super bright headlights cruising right on my tail. RIGHT ON MY TAIL!
  
  I do a commute of about half an hour a couple of times a week on two interstate highways with 55 and 60 mph speed limit respectively. My commute is an unfortunate one requiring me to leave home around 4:45 pm ? the rush hour begins while as I am getting the ramp to the highway ? and my return commute being at night around 9 pm, which is normally stress-free. On a normal day, I could cope with St. Louis' bad "I'm-a-selfrighteous-and-I-don't-give-a-ratsass-about-others" driving culture, but I have to use all the nerves I have to cope a rainy day during rush hours on these commutes. All these cars are speeding in the rain like it wasn't raining. They use their wipers but their brains couldn't warn them that they need to turn on their head (and tail) lights at the same time when they turn on their wipers. I am talking about a really, really heavy downpour that caused floods in many counties, so I am not being unreasonable here. When it is raining, the spray from these high speed cars are spraying on you that it makes it difficult to see what's ahead of you when people don't turn on their lights.
  
  Of course there are people who weave, they pass you for no reason and slow down as they got in-front of you, requiring you to break for them. There are people who stay on the lane no. 4 and try to change to lane no.1 only 100 ft. before their exit. Most of these things happen because people are on their cell phones and are NOT paying attention to the moving vehicle that they are in. Their hands might be on the steering wheel - one hand in most cases since people seem to feel the need to yulp on their cell phones, having phone-sex or whatever when they drive - but their minds aren?t on the road. When people?s minds aren?t on the road, it delays their response time by many seconds, a crucial amount of time that most of the time determines between life and death, their lives plus others.
  
  If you are telling me that bad driving is a genetic disorder, then I can also go around stabbing these bad drivers and claim that killing bad driver is in my gene. How about that, huh?
  

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  13

  BillDem

  11/05/09 | Report as spam

  Genetically bad drivers...

  I think it's true. I also think the percentage is higher than 30% and that these genes seem to cluster in the population of particular cities. Boston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles spring to mind.

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  14

  boboli

  11/11/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  Darmananda - you sound like one of those people who are the cause for road rage! If someone is "RIGHT ON MY TAIL" as you mention several times, either speed up, or get the hell out of the way! I am by no means a slow driver (in PA you're legally allowed 5 to 7 mph over the speed limit). But if I'm driving 50 in a 45 mph zone and someone behind me still wants to go faster, I'll pull onto the shoulder and let them pass. Why is something like that such a big deal? Is it an ego thing (you feel more "in control" making someone behind you wait)? arogance? stupidity??
  
  But anyway, back to the original story - Born to run off the road? Genetics? Sounds like a bunch of nonscense to me. Unless you're referring to the gene that controls IQ. I feel a major part of the problem with drivers in general is that driver training does not represent real world driving at all. Especially the real world of dealing with emergency situations. I think if driver training included real world simulators (much like what pilots use) that simulate emergency situations such as deer running out, someone blowing a stop sign right in front of you, someone cutting you off in your lane, etc, etc, our drivers would be much better prepared with dealing with these situations. And those that fail, DO NOT get a license.
  
  How well one deals with emergency situations like these, and others, could well mean life or death for many on the roads - just look at the poor passengers in that moron's car whose gas pedal got stuck - he crashed and killed, what was it? 3 or 4 other people. (just in case you wondering right now "what would I do if my gas pedal got stuck" - put the car in nuetral and pull the emergency brake, for crying out loud!!!! It not rocket science people). Several other people had to needlessly lose their lives because of one dope who couldn't figure out what to do in emergency situation.
  

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  15

  dabbsil

  11/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  BillDem - if you think they concentrate in cities like Boston, Phoenix, etc., it's only because those must be transplanted natives from the state of WA. Worst drivers in the WORLD, and I've driven a lot in the world. They are courteous as all get out, but still the worst idiots out there.

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  16

  themilkman

  11/17/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  What exactly constitutes a good driver? Someone that can weave through a course of street cones and not hit one? It's funny how 85% of all drivers think that they are better than average drivers. I find that good drivers are the ones that are paying attention and that make passengers feel comfortable. Driving fast and weaving lane to lane so you get to your destination 20 seconds ahead of the cautious driver does not make you a "good" driver. Also, being a cautious driver does not make you a "good" driver automatically. Trying to force your views on others while driving, ie driving in the 60MPH lane at 65 with someone right behind you, is not showing that you are paying attention. If the conditions are safe, and I want to drive 100 in the 60, then get out of the way, it's not your job to enforce the rules. Paying attention to everything while you are driving is the most important part of driving and does make for good drivers.

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  17

  PsyBeats

  11/17/09 | Report as spam

  Insuring Bad Genes

  Perhaps with this discovery, people with this gene will have to pay
  higher costs to be insured. Allowing those without the bad gene to get
  on with driving without being crashed into..

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  18

  cardhun@...

  11/20/09 | Report as spam

  More Research Is Needed

  As of right now, the hypothesis that genetics and bad driving are related is a supposition based on a very small sample and subjective opinion.
  
  Much more study is needed to establish a positive correlation. Further study would be needed to determine how much driver training can reduce risks of bad driving.
  
  Here in America, having a car and a license to drive it are essential resources for access to employment. As a result, driving is viewed as a need rather than a privilege. The mass transit infrastructure would need massive investment before it could handle the extra traffic of additional people suddenly denied a driver's license.
  
  Someone else here made a great point - are YOU willing to be denied a license or pay for additional training and higher auto insurance premiums because of your genetics? How about being denied or paying more for health and life insurance? This is a dangerous precedent to set nased on the flawed assumption, "It won't happen to me."
  
  To rivardau: Your arithmetic assumes that the sets of "drivers with a bad driving gene" and "drivers who don't drive" are completely separate sets. They aren't, so the conclusion that "30% + 30% = 60%" of the population is mistaken.

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  19

  DavidOfem

  11/21/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Bad Drivers: Born to run off the road?

  Bad drivers are not born. What with the man who drives badly because at the time of driving he is under the influence of either alcohol or drugs or one who got his driver training from an ill trained driver.
  David Ofem, roadsafetyconsult@yahoo.com