Poor White Crash

I’m hardly a road scholar, but a recent study from the University of California (at Berkeley) definitely got my attention. Having owned more than a few German and British cars in my misspent life, I thought a study of the driving habits of those who have these top-of-the-line Deutsch treats was mos’ interesting. And yes, Mergatroyd, I actually do come to a complete stop at stop signs, but speed limits… well, let’s say I try… On the other hand, cutting folks off and weaving through traffic just aren’t my style. So let’s look at the study.

“Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner along with a research team from the University of Toronto conducted seven experiments, two of which measured drivers' ethical behavior… First, by using Kelly Blue Book data on the year, make and model, researchers were able to extrapolate which cars could be considered luxury or high class. This included the usual suspects, like newer BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and Audi models. Then, unsurprisingly, the researchers found higher-income earners tended to drive these cars…

“The first experiment measured how many drivers failed to yield at a four way stop. Data showed 12 percent of drivers cut fellow motorists off at the intersection, with 30 percent of high-end drivers failing to yield. In the second experiment, 46 percent of high status drivers failed to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk compared to 35 percent of a random sampling of drivers. Next time you're crossing the street and see a BMW heading your way, watch out… ‘Upper-class individuals' relative independence from others and increased privacy in their professions may provide fewer structural constraints and decreased perceptions of risk associated with committing unethical acts,’ the study read.” Autos.Aol.com, July 17^th. 

So upscale drivers are a whole lot more likely to be rude, self-centered and willing to ignore other drivers as they sail their land yachts down the highways and byways of their automotive universe. “An informal study from discount website VoucherCodesPro is backing up those [Berkeley] findings. They found drivers who are perceived as expressing road rage the most tend to drive luxury brands, with BMW topping the list. Followed close behind were Land Rover and Audi. They also found that blue was perceived as the most aggressive color car and men ages 35 to 50 were the worst offenders. Predictably, the worst times for road rage were Friday afternoon and Monday morning rush hours.

“Yet another informal study recently called luxury owner's morality into question. A UK dating website for people looking to cheat on their spouse called Illicit Encounters surveyed their users and found 22% were Audi owners. The most popular model with cheaters last year? BMW of course.” Autos.Aol.com, August 15^th. Porsche anyone?

I’m Peter Dekom, and it does seem that getting lost in performance cars can lose more than a sense of superiority all too easily!