Has anyone else seen the new research by insurance provider Aviva that shows 40% of people undergo a "radical personality change" behind the wheel?

Apparently, of those 61% become more aggressive and take more risks, while 39% become quieter and overly-cautious when they're on the road.

I think I am definitely the latter, I can be much too cautious when driving - too many years as a pedestrian, I think.

What's your driving style and what kind of drivers do you find more annoying, the risk takers or the hyper-cautious?

Felicity

My driving style is all about making progress. I generally dont speed excessively though, and usually try to stick within 10% of the speed limit. I am always thinking 100 yards down the road which means you don't need to speed to make good progress.

Risk takers don't annoy me as they are usually out of my way pretty quickly. People who call themselves Over-cautious bug me a little. I think that folk who cannot control the car properly tend to leave decision making till the last minute, driving slowly (and everyone else mad) and blocking junctions while they decide which way to go.

I dont think one can be over cautious but one can certainly be ill-equipped to drive properly and claim caution as a reason for ones crapness.

This isn't a dig at you, by the way, Felicity. :-)

JJ

Ha ha, no offence taken JJ (*she says, sobbing into her keyboard...*).

I agree that ridiculously cautious drivers are a menace on the roads - especially if they keep hesitating, lurching and stopping at roundabouts.

Some insurer (I think the AA) has just called for more driving lesson time to be dedicated to learning to handle a car in reverse. I suppose the problem is that you can only cram so much into a test!

Felicity

Ooh, you've got me going now, this is a proper pet hate of mine...

What's better is that there are going to be wholesale changes to the driving instruction and testing system fairly soon. It appears that the test may be across a couple of days or stages with an examiner's instruction likey to be "take me to Bolton" or something similar.

Being able to point a car in the right direction and propel it a little doesn't constitute someone being safe to drive. I for one can't wait for this to happen. I'm glad the DSA have caught on to this..

Ah well, I think I need a Brandy now... (not whilst driving I might add).

JJ