Whenever you think of road rage you often think of a man with one hand wrapped tightly around the steering wheel and the other performing a rude gesture as he tells you what he really thinks of your driving. But no. A survey conducted by Hyundai has shown that it’s the fairer sex that is likely to lose their rag behind the wheel.
The Not So Fairer Sex
Out of 1,000 drivers asked, on average 12% of women were angrier than men whilst driving. The data comes from an experiment carried out by behavioural psychologist at Goldsmith’s University, Patrick Fagan, who used a combination of different sights, sounds, smells, touch and even taste.
The study also showed that the female gender were 14% angrier than their male counterparts when dealing with situations such as being beeped at or undertaken and 13% angrier when confronted with another driver that hadn’t indicated. In fairness, that’s one of my big pet hates so I’m with them on that one.
The Results Aren’t All Bad Though
The study also revealed 51% of the 1,000 asked continue their love of driving because of the freedom with 19% saying it was because of mobility and 10% stating independence reasons. Interestingly, 29% of men admitted they felt it’s easier to open up their feelings when in a car, so if you need to coax something out of a bloke try getting him in to a BMW MINI.
54% of those asked said they enjoy a sing-song whilst driving (I’m surprised it’s not more), with many saying that enjoy songs such as ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. 84% said it was empty roads that made them happy, 78% said the countryside and 69% said the seaside.
What Has This Got To Do With Hyundai?
Following the results of the study, both Hyundai and Fagan are looking to introduce something called Driving Emotion Test to find out what factors influence people when they are behind the wheel. Their is a test available online but there is also a chance to get tickets to ‘House of Hyundai’, a three-day sensory experience which takes next month in Soho.
Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai Motor UK’s President and CEO comments: “We are constantly striving to better understand what impacts people’s behaviour when they are driving and this research has certainly revealed some interesting, and somewhat surprising results. By examining drivers’ emotions, our aim is to help them get a better drive both today and in the future.”
