Are you a bad driver? A new study has found your parents could be to blame.
UK-based Scrap Car Comparison, in partnership with research company Censuswide, surveyed 1002 drivers aged 17 and above about their own driving behaviours, those of their parents, and their thoughts around negative and positive driving habits.
Half the participants had been pulled over by the police, participated in a speed awareness course, or received demerit points on their licence within the last 10 years. These were all assessed as “bad” driving behaviours.
According to the study, 66 per cent of the survey participants who had partaken in “bad” driving behaviours had parents who had also fallen foul of the law in the last 10 years.
Participants had to share knowledge of their parents’ driving histories over the past 10 years with the survey-takers.
Speeding and road rage were the top two most common traits passed from parent to child, with 55 per and 49 per cent of participants, respectively, saying they had learned the habits from their parents.
Other participants also said they learned poor spatial awareness, careless driving, and dangerous driving from their parents.
10 per cent of participants also found they learned to drive too carefully from their parents.
In terms of good driving habits survey participants learned from their parents, 46 per cent learned to always indicate when required.
Participants also learned to stay calm behind the wheel, drive within the speed limit, not hog a lane on the freeway, let other drivers out at an intersection, and to know what all the road signs mean.
Do you think bad driving is passed on from parent to child? Let us know in the comments.
