This can't be fake news, surely?

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 15:24
This can't be fake news, surely? - Andrew-T

New scientific research has shown what many of us suspected: the probability of a car stopping for an occupied zebra crossing is inversely proportional to the value of the vehicle. A University of Helsinki study found that (quote) self-centred men who are argumentative, stubborn, disagreeable and lacking in empathy are much more likely to own a high-status car such as an Audi, BMW or Mercedes (end quote). All German cars, which is possibly significant?

All mine have been French ..... :-)

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 15:37
This can't be fake news, surely? - concrete

I think anecdotal evidence would confirm that conclusion. It is often the case when being tailgated, usually for observing the speed limit, it tends to be an Audi, BMW or similar. Hardly ever Ford, Honda, Renault etc etc. Perversely it is often young women and often with children in the car too. Strange thing that. Putting it down to lack of empathy is interesting, or is it just plain selfishness, ignorance and bad manners combined? Discuss.

Cheers Concrete

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 15:47
This can't be fake news, surely? - galileo

I think anecdotal evidence would confirm that conclusion. It is often the case when being tailgated, usually for observing the speed limit, it tends to be an Audi, BMW or similar. Hardly ever Ford, Honda, Renault etc etc. Perversely it is often young women and often with children in the car too. Strange thing that. Putting it down to lack of empathy is interesting, or is it just plain selfishness, ignorance and bad manners combined? Discuss.

Cheers Concrete

Add to the usual class of tailgating offenders RangeRovers of all types.

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 13:58
This can't be fake news, surely? - Lrac

I think anecdotal evidence would confirm that conclusion. It is often the case when being tailgated, usually for observing the speed limit, it tends to be an Audi, BMW or similar. Hardly ever Ford, Honda, Renault etc etc. Perversely it is often young women and often with children in the car too. Strange thing that. Putting it down to lack of empathy is interesting, or is it just plain selfishness, ignorance and bad manners combined? Discuss.

Cheers Concrete

I have to agree 100%

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 16:18
This can't be fake news, surely? - Avant

My impression - again anecdotal - is that tailgaters and those who push past tend to be in black cars. The make seems less significant, although it does tend to be BMWs, Audis and Land/Range Rovers - very rarely Mercedes for some reason. Maybe many Mercedes drivers have already reached the top of their profession, and don't need to push so hard.

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 17:47
This can't be fake news, surely? - badbusdriver

I think anecdotal evidence would confirm that conclusion. It is often the case when being tailgated, usually for observing the speed limit, it tends to be an Audi, BMW or similar. Hardly ever Ford, Honda, Renault etc etc.

Funny you should say that Concrete as i had an odd experience with a tailgating Renault Megane this morning!. Odd, because the driver seemed desperate to get past, but did not take any of the 5 overtaking opportunities in between him arriving at my back bumper and our paths diverging!.

As soon as he arrived behind me and started pulling out for a look, i thought, "oh oh, here we go, he is going to overtake somewhere stupid". But the first possible overtaking point arrived and the two cars behind him passed him and me, he stayed behind, but still pulling out constantly for a look. And that is how it continued for about 12 miles till i turned off the main road!.

Baffled!

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 17:52
This can't be fake news, surely? - John F

My impression - again anecdotal - is that tailgaters and those who push past tend to be in black cars.

Agreed. Colour psychologists describe drivers of silver cars as.....

• Silver: Safer, more mature. Silver is the car least likely to be involved in a car accident and use less petrol

.....my Audi is silver. Phew! (But sadly it only does 20 mpg).

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 17:57
This can't be fake news, surely? - Engineer Andy

My impression - again anecdotal - is that tailgaters and those who push past tend to be in black cars.

Agreed. Colour psychologists describe drivers of silver cars as.....

• Silver: Safer, more mature. Silver is the car least likely to be involved in a car accident and use less petrol

.....my Audi is silver. Phew! (But sadly it only does 20 mpg).

Ah, yes, but yours in an Audi, which offsets things the other way. :-)

I tend to believe that how agressive a driver is is directly proportional to the diameter and noise of their car's exhaust pipe, or the ratio of their car's wheels to the tyre sidewall height.

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 18:46
This can't be fake news, surely? - madf

:-)

I tend to believe that how agressive a driver is is directly proportional to the diameter and noise of their car's exhaust pipe, or the ratio of their car's wheels to the tyre sidewall height.

I happen to believe a driver's aggression is directly related to their feeling of inferiority and they try to alleviate that feeling by passing someone...

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 19:59
This can't be fake news, surely? - Engineer Andy

:-)

I tend to believe that how agressive a driver is is directly proportional to the diameter and noise of their car's exhaust pipe, or the ratio of their car's wheels to the tyre sidewall height.

I happen to believe a driver's aggression is directly related to their feeling of inferiority and they try to alleviate that feeling by passing someone...

It's probably inversely proportional to the size of their do-dah, or perhaps proportional to the size they errorneously think it is!

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 19:48
This can't be fake news, surely? - Manatee

There are two main types of tailgaters. The ones who want you to go faster or to pass you, and the ignorant/daydreamers who just know no better than to attach themselves to the vehicle in front almost regardless of its speed.

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Thu 27 Feb 2020 20:40
This can't be fake news, surely? - Zippy123

I noticed tailgating a lot more over the last few weeks.

I put it down the fact that I am driving SWMBO's Nissan Note whilst I procrastinate over my next motor. (BTW the reason I don't have a new car is this forums fault - do I lease / PCP / Buy, then new or pre-reg, then what type of car; SUV or estate or hatch, even down to the colour of the thing - it's all your fault and I can't make my mind up ;-) )

Anyway, because the car is small I think van drivers think that they can intimidate me.

The Note is a fine car. Did 500 miles in it last week (2x 250 miles) and it was fine and did 52 mpg brim to brim (petrol).

All round visibility is also very good. Of course the sat nav broke after I used it again and SWMBO blames me - it has been fine all the time she has been driving it of course - woman's logic!!!!

Edited by Zippy123 on 27/02/2020 at 20:41

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 00:59
This can't be fake news, surely? - edlithgow

Often trrucks tailgate me on the freeway here in Taiwan, which doesn't really conform to the confirmed stereotype in that report.

I suppose they feel cars don't belong in the slow lane, so they tailgate me rather than just overtake.

(Since most cars are much newer and shinier with higher performance than mine, they arent found in the slow lane.)

There is however, a very long stereotype-confirming single lane slip road I use regularly, and there I get tailgated by cars.

Black Porsche Cayenne seem to be over-represented, or maybe they just flash thier lights more.

I think many people find old scruffy cars (like old scruffy people) actually offensive. This seems likely to be especially true of status conscious people, and especially true in a Chinese culture, where new shiny cars give "face"

Edited by edlithgow on 28/02/2020 at 01:27

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 01:10
This can't be fake news, surely? - Bilboman

My two penn'orth about tailgaters.
I concur with the suggestion that high cost (overpriced, German-badged) sheet metal is less likely to show courtesy at a zebra crossing and elsewhere, whilst drivers of more modest conveyances tend to be more generous and considerate.
Whenever I set the cruise control on a longish journey, I am always overtaken by a cocky, impatient, got-to-get-past type who proceeds to overtake me as a matter of honour in order to get in front, and then a few seconds later his/her speed drops again. I end up disengaging cruise control as the overtaker only speeds up to get past then actually drives more slowly than me.
There is another element. I agree with the comment that "many Mercedes drivers have already reached the top of their profession, and don't need to push so hard", as I believe there is a simple but crude divide between "old money" drivers (Mercedes, Jaguar, Rolls, Lexus, Honda) and "new money" (Audi, BMW, Bentley, Range Rover, Maserati, Porsche, anything from North America.)

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 04:10
This can't be fake news, surely? - Old.Roverboy

ZIPPY.

KIA are doing some cracking deals via Carwow.

Very light heartedly. Is your surname Do Da?

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 23:36
This can't be fake news, surely? - Zippy123

ZIPPY.

KIA are doing some cracking deals via Carwow.

Very light heartedly. Is your surname Do Da?

Oi :-)

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 10:30
This can't be fake news, surely? - SLO76
I spend most of my days on the road behind the wheel of a LWB Volvo Elite coach and by far the worst offenders for God awful driving are Audi drivers and Ubber cab drivers both of which I regularly see trying to drive under the wheels of my near twenty tonne coach. I’m not sure what attracts the idiots to Audi but the four ring badge is now a warning sign of stupidity on the road.

Honda Jazz drivers are dangerous in a different way. Hogging the middle lane or sitting at exactly 1mph less than buses and trucks in the inside lane, they then accelerate when you try to pass then slow down again and so the cycle continues until you eventually get past. They must cause so many accidents by being ignorant of their surroundings. My mother for example has never used 5th gear in hers despite regular trips to see her sister some twenty miles away. She’s no clue where she should be on the road and regularly gets in other road users way. I’m amazed she’s never crashed but I’ll bet she’s unwittingly caused a few.
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Fri 28 Feb 2020 14:14
This can't be fake news, surely? - Theophilus
My mother for example has never used 5th gear in hers despite regular trips to see her sister some twenty miles away. She’s no clue where she should be on the road and regularly gets in other road users way. I’m amazed she’s never crashed but I’ll bet she’s unwittingly caused a few.

Reminds me of a DVLA medical I did a few years ago on a retired vicar (heart issues not drink driving!) - he assured me that he was a very safe driver as he never changed out of 1st gear, and had never had an accident ... I had visions of multiple vehicle pile-ups all around him.

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Fri 28 Feb 2020 20:20
This can't be fake news, surely? - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}

Most of the black car drivers around here are blonde women. Lots around Chesterfield, Bakewell, Baslow etc. I steer clear

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Sat 29 Feb 2020 13:04
This can't be fake news, surely? - glidermania

Do you know, Ive never been:

Brake checked, tailgated, undertaken \ overtaken dangerously, cut up, had the car Im passing speed up as I do so or had the 'v' or 'the bird' flicked at me, had drivers not stop at mini roundabouts or giveway junctions by drivers of Fords, Vauxhalls, Hondas, Citroen, Renaults, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai etc, etc?

Of course I imagined it all as is the 'it's always BMW, Audi, mercedes drivers in black cars' b******s.

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Sat 29 Feb 2020 21:35
This can't be fake news, surely? - galileo

Do you know, Ive never been:

Brake checked, tailgated, undertaken \ overtaken dangerously, cut up, had the car Im passing speed up as I do so or had the 'v' or 'the bird' flicked at me, had drivers not stop at mini roundabouts or giveway junctions by drivers of Fords, Vauxhalls, Hondas, Citroen, Renaults, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai etc, etc?

Of course I imagined it all as is the 'it's always BMW, Audi, mercedes drivers in black cars' b******s.

You don't by any chance drive an ex-army 6 x 6 Saracen? If I had the parking space and could afford the fuel consumption I think this would be ideal for ensuring protection from the many mad, bad and dangerous drivers who infest the roads these days.

Edited by galileo on 29/02/2020 at 21:36

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