Tag Archives: stress

women drivers

Angry Birds behind the wheel

angry_womanA recent study of 1,000 UK drivers reveals women are, on average, 12% angrier than men when they’re behind the wheel.

So claims Hyundai and behavioural psychologist Patrick Fagan after cutting-edge technology to create the world’s first Driving Emotion Test (DET).

This involves facial coding technology, eye tracking analysis, galvanic skin response and a heart rate monitor to record how specific stimuli impact our emotions when we’re driving.

The results are then fed into specially-created software to provide subjects with a unique DET score.

If you want to have a go you can via an online DET and secure tickets to House of Hyundai– a three-day sensory experience on the 4th and 5th November 2016 at Unit London in Soho.

Quite remarkable…

Angry female driver reactions

Apparently women were the most angry when undertaken, shouted at, beeped at, had to deal with a back-seat driver (women 14% angrier) or faced with a road user who failed to indicate (women 13% angrier).

In all test scenarios, women were more likely to respond with anger than male drivers.

The study suggests two dominant emotions of happiness, as in a sense of freedom when driving and anger when drivers feel out of control.

Other Driving Emotion findings

Research findings include…

1/ The primary reasons for our continued love affair with driving are the freedom it gives us (51%), mobility (19%) and independence (10%)

2/ If you want a man to open up, take him for a drive. Just under a third (29%) of men said they find it easier to have a conversation in the car. Fourteen percent added that a chat actually makes them a better driver

3/ 54% of Brits said the thing that made them really happy in the car was singing – which may explain why Carpool Karaoke has resonated with many people

4/ When the researchers looked at what makes us happy behind the wheel, 84% of people said “empty roads”, 78% said “the countryside” and 69% “the seaside”

5/ Music also makes most drivers happy. Eight out of 10 people nearly always listen to something while driving with Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody top of the driving charts. Pop (70%) and rock (61%) are the most popular genres

Explaining the results, Mr Fagan commented: “Psychologically, women score higher than men on emotional and verbal intelligence, and on the personality trait of neuroticism. Evolutionary theory suggests our early female ancestors had to develop an acute sense of danger for anything that threatened them and their young if their cave was undefended while men were out hunting. That ‘early warning system’ instinct is still relevant today, and women drivers tend to be more sensitive to negative stimuli, so get angry and frustrated quicker.”

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai Motor UK’s President and CEO comments:  “We are constantly striving to better understand what impacts people’s behaviour when they are driving and this research has certainly revealed some interesting, and somewhat surprising results. By examining drivers’ emotions, our aim is to help them get a better drive both today and in the future.”

Anger busting driver strategies

I am not sure how Hyundai plans to improve the driving ability of those that undertake cars, beep, shout or fail to indicate their directional intentions to women but I can say, hand on heart, that FOXY is doing what it can to help Club members cope with the stressful side of their motoring by being here for them when they need us.

So they can set out to drive to work, for example, in a better and less stressed frame of mind that is more likely to aid their concentration and tolerance of others.
_________________________

Comments most welcome via Twitter @FOXYtweets.

FOXY

motoring

Calm down dear…

We all remember Michael Winner’s advice to ‘calm down’ and it’s definitely sound advice when you’re battling with what could be your own feelings of road rage as a result of others motoring antics.

Sensible advice this week from road safety charity the IAM reminds us how easy it is to get stressed by everyday motoring mistakes others make. Here are the highlights singled out by their Chief Examiner Peter Rodger and whilst I do detect a male flavour in some instances it’s well worth thinking through the psychology of all this in advance.

1. Rather than adopt a superior than thou attitude when other drivers annoy you, remember that they probably realise they have made a mistake and give them the time and space to sort their error out. They probably don’t need you telling them the error of their ways…

2. The horn is there simply to get others’ attention and let them know that you are there. If someone else uses it to express annoyance, don’t join in because it achieves nothing but adds to the stress for others. Just let it pass.

3. If you spot a vehicle coming towards you with its full beam on, do remember that this is probably a case of forgetfulness on the part of the driver. By switching your full beam on (which many motorists do in retaliation) you are simply adding to the risk of that car having an accident.

4. As tempting as it is to close the traffic gap at junctions before letting others in ahead of you, why not set an example by giving way at busy junctions and/or allowing traffic to merge into your lane when necessary – for example, at a motorway junction.

5. If another road user is driving threateningly, try to maintain extra distance between your car and theirs. Try not to react by accelerating, braking or swerving suddenly, as this will reduce your car control, could affect others and will probably wind up the other driver.

6. Planning as far ahead as possible puts you in the best state of mind to predict other people’s actions and mistakes on the road, allowing you to cope with them more easily.

Rodger said: “Road rage never improves these situations, and puts you, your passengers, and other road users around you at risk. The best thing is to stay calm and continue to drive sensibly, not worsen the situation.”

I’d add that on some occasions it’s easier and safer in the long term to say sorry, even when it wasn’t our fault. Let’s face it, most women have learned how to concede with grace when some men can’t concede for loss of face.

To find out more about coping with road rage situations, why not consider attending a dealership evening for ladies that teaches you how to spot and deal with this including, heaven forbid, self defence tactics if things get out of hand.

FOXY

road accident

The personal trauma of a car accident

I know from personal experience how a bad car accident can affect your lifestyle and confidence. And I’m not talking about one where anyone was killed or that involved more than two vehicles. And yet it’s taken me 15 months to put it behind me, including sorting out the insurance ramifications.

On the day in question my husband and I were on holiday in Kent to celebrate our anniversary. We’d been sightseeing in Canterbury and were returning to our B&B in Chilham along the main A road when a car pulled out immediately in front of us.

The driver looked straight at us and drove out in front of us. There was absolutely nothing we could do to avoid an impact as both cars travelled across and into the opposite carriageway…

Had any more cars or individuals been involved this would have been a lot worse. As it happened, I cracked a rib and broke my thumb and my husband (who was driving at the time) took the combined impact on his braking foot although the damage here wasn’t evident for a while. The other driver was soon accompanied by members of her family (who happened to be working on the roof of a building overlooking the junction) and whilst she would have been shocked, I don’t think she was badly injured otherwise.

Two weeks later I needed to have my thumb re-pinned in an operation and was in plaster for c3 months. This accident happened a month before Christmas and totally ruined it. I couldn’t drive, my business was affected, I couldn’t wrap presents, I couldn’t do everyday domestics, we were both eating painkillers and I needed help dressing for some time. My husband was wonderful but it turned out he had damaged his foot in the accident – ignored in the hope it was bruising – and it was c6 months before he was able to walk without limping.

Why aren’t ‘no fault accidents’ straightforward to deal with?

You’d have thought our accident would have been a clear cut case of a ‘no fault’ accident but the motorist who caused ours denied liability initially and said she’d seen us indicate to turn left before she pulled out. We hadn’t, we weren’t going there so why would we have done, and even if we had made a mistake, you’d be mad to pull out in front of any motorist indicating one way but clearly not going there. But all this added to the delay of processing our claim and our stress.

I understand that accident liability is often disputed even in what should be clear cut no fault accident cases. Which is why independent witnesses and photos at the time are so important and why we should all volunteer our time and visual memories so insurers have the proof they need to pay out quickly and record instances where one party has clearly lied.

Whilst nobody saw our accident happen my husband did have a camera with us which was lucky; not everyone has a camera phone of course and fortunately the layout of the junction made it obvious what happened.

I know I was luckier than most. We used FOXY’s accident management service and a small replacement car was delivered to us the next morning in Kent; it was our anniversary, we’d a special lunch arranged and we were returning to Sussex afterwards… All the same, it’s taken nearly 15 months to agree and receive a final cheque to settle my claim to include hospital treatment and two courses of much needed physio.

Technology for good in accidents

Other than cameras, it’s good to see technology being used for good in this area. Most of us know about the ICE (In Case of Emergency) protocol where you enter your ICE contact in your mobile address book to assist rescue services; if this is news to you, just enter ICE as the name of your next of kin contact number.

But black box telemetry can detect car accidents and, if programmed to do so, will alert system operators to make sure that emergency assistance is provided in case of an accident in the middle of nowhere with no-one to help. This intelligence is being programmed into many new cars now and clearly this is the way forward.

A more primitive device to help the accident victim and her insurer is the emergence of a dashboard camera device that continually records what the motorist sees, refreshing this data on, supposedly, a daily basis. A great way to prove where the car in front has reversed into your car at a junction to fabricate expensive whiplash claims for an entire family.

FOXY hears from members who feel as if they’re waiting in a queue for a replacement car or accident repair. That’s poor customer service we feel when all they want is their familiar car back as soon as possible or the money to go out and buy one to replace a write off.

And then there are others who lose their driving confidence and need to understand that is a normal reaction. And that there are normal ways to rebuild their driving confidence again, so they don’t lose their independence.

Returning to the subject of my accident, you could say “all’s well that ends well” but the point of this post is to explain that I (and therefore FOXY) understand the need for an independent and caring accident management and support service that puts the innocent motorist first at a time when we’re all feeling very fragile and vulnerable. In a nutshell Club members aren’t on their own at accident time; we understand what it feels like and we can help you get over it…

FOXY