My daily commute home involves me merging into fairly heavy traffic. Four times out of five I can pretty well guarantee that someone will let me in. I firmly believe that is because I am a courteous driver who let’s people change lanes, enter from side streets who rarely blows my horn (other than the one I’m blowing at the moment) and that my good luck on the road is due to karma.
But that one time out of five–well there’s just no accounting for some people. I have noticed a pattern though. The discourteous, non merge allowing drivers are usually driving Saabs or Volvos and particularly Lexuses. Add a personalised plate to that and I know I’m screwed. No getting to my lane that way. I usually have to wait for a Hyundai or a Mazda to let me in. Anyway while all this sounds like me randomly theorising, I can back my conclusions up with a recent US study that says that drivers of luxury cars are more selfish than other drivers.
Paul Piff from the University of California, Berkeley, found that 30 per cent of drivers with luxury cars cut off other drivers, compared to less than 10 per cent of those behind the wheel of less flashy vehicles. Wealthy drivers were also less likely to give way to pedestrians than people of lower socio-economic status.
The study went on further to say that people from different financial backgrounds and shown upper-class citizens were more likely to lie, cheat and break the law than their lower-class peers.
Lower class. I drive a Mazda. I’m polite. Does that mean I’m lower class? Image
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