Blame genetics for bad driving

[HKr1]

The next time you see a motorist obliviously straddling two lanes, don't fault bad driving, but genetics.

In a study published recently in the journal Cerebral Cortex, researcher Steven Cramer found that people with a certain gene variant performed more than 30 percent worse on a driving test than people without it.

The study by Cramer, a neurology professor at the University of California Irvine, might also help explain why there are so many bad drivers on U.S. highways: About 30 percent of Americans have the variant.

Ordinarily, when a person performs a task, a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is secreted to the area of the brain that is associated with that activity.

The protein helps facilitate communication among brain cells and helps retain memory.

However in people who have the gene variation that Cramer studied, BDNF secretion is limited.

"These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away," Cramer said in a statement.

Cramer and his team of researchers set out to find how the variant affected driving.

They recruited 29 people to drive 15 laps on a simulated course with difficult curves and turns. Twenty-two of the participants did not have the gene variant; seven did.

The researchers wanted to see how effectively the participants learned to navigate the twists and turns in each subsequent lap.

Four days later, they repeated the test. The participants with the variant did worse both times. They also retained less the second go-round.

"I'd be curious to know the genetics of people who get into car crashes," Cramer said. "I wonder if the accident rate is higher for drivers with the variant."

Unfortunately, a test to determine whether someone has the gene variant is not commercially available.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science...ene/index.html

[rockNroll]

When I see a motorist driving stupid I usually blame the phone he/she has crammed against their head.

[Cedilla]

Well I was on the Interstate today, and this girl was tailgating me, I had about a 2 to 3sec gap on the car in front of me, and I noticed the gap was getting shorter so I let off the gas, to maintain my following distance, and just touched my brake petal to alert the person behind me that I was slowing. Anyway this bimbo almost rear ended me because she was not paying attention. Then she has the nerve to get beside me, open the sunroof, and flip me off. I was trying to figure out what she was doing at first, then I lol'd pretty hard, when I figured it out. Maybe she had the gene variant.

[HKr1]

^I bet she did!

I always say to the wife, WTF is wrong with these people So she sent me that link and said, now you know

[Flashmonkey]

This may hold some bearing. I also notice that the same people who can't drive very well also don't know how to walk very well (in that they are very oblivious to their surroundings, often stopping in the middle of a corridor/side walk for no reason, or just generally obstructing pedestrian traffic with their nonsensical stupidity). It could be some kind of attention deficit disorder....or just a generally lazy attitude. Who knows?

[CarmelaE]

Interesting! But this is just one of the factors. As this, I came across an article this morning that is related with this post, I found this here: Eight steps to being a bad driver

“You moron!” “Learn how to drive!” How did you get a license?” — The banter of the road. Nearly every motorist uses one or more of these phrases frequently. Everybody thinks they are the one driving it properly, and everyone else is bad at it. But nobody appreciates a contrarian on the sidelines. Embrace the group dynamic. Become a bad driver, too! :lol

[Daks]

In before "I'm being victimized for my disease!" every time you curse at a bad driver.

It's like fake asperger's people and the majority of overweight people. They convince themselves they have an excuse for their incompetence at the expense of the seriousness afforded to those who really do suffer from various ailments.

They should really make people re-take the driving test when they renew their licenses. Perhaps not the full in-a-car test, but a revised and bettered written one.

Same goes for motorcycles.

[Apex]

I too blame the phone to their head, the phone they are texting on, the e-reader they are reading, the nav screen they are messing with, or even the cup of coffee in their hands.

Some people just cannot drive. I mean, they CANNOT DRIVE. As in, they need to be downgraded to a tricycle.

[Jiggles]

What a lame sample size