Driving Behaviors and Personality

When you drive the same route to and from work for a few years, you start to notice the same drivers everyday and their driving habits. Some have good habits, others bad, a few are awful. I started to wonder what these behaviors said about their personalities. Could they be indicators of more bad behaviors in other areas of their lives?

I started to formulate my own thoughts on what specific driving habits translated into certain personality traits. I also found there are a lot of sites on the Internet associated with this idea in mind. I didn't read too much into it as I wanted to share my take on this area of psychology. Below is my un-scientific list of driving habits translated to personality traits.

Good Behaviors

• Using signals to change lanes. * You make promises and follow through on them. You don't let people down. You have good communication skills.
• Keeping a safe following distance. * You are a cautious person, your trust is earned, not bestowed.
• Coming to a full stop. * You are consistent in what you do and are a stickler for the details. You practice what you preach.
• You drive a reasonable speed for road conditions (less than 10 mph over the limit). * You are a realistic person who is well grounded and centered. You do not deal in absolutes.


• You give other drivers the right of way. * You are a considerate person and volunteer to help others.
• Bad Behaviors

• Tailgating. *You know what you want but you bully your way to get it. You are overbearing.
• Excessive speeding/Zig-zagging through traffic. * You have no consideration for anyone but yourself. You are self centered and pompus.


• Driving the speed limit in the passing lane. * You are inattentive and complacent. You have no goals in life.


• Not having your lights on in the rain or snow. * You are arrogant and think you have all the answers. You have unrealistic expectations.


• You fail to remove all the snow from all areas of your car. * You are lazy and unmotivated. "it's good enough" is your motto.
• You fail to hold a steady speed. You are inconsistent and don't finish what you started. You leave people hanging.

I'm not a Psychologist and you may not see things as I do, and I'm sure there are many more of these I could add to the list like "what does talking on the phone" say about you, but I'll leave that one and others for you folks to ponder.

Below is a link to the Psychology Today's page to take the "What type of driver are you?" test. I took it and I think I scored pretty well. How did you do?

http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=1309

My Results.