Study Links Bad-Driver Behavior to Wealth

Prius drivers received low marks for road courtesy.

Bad driving habits -- no signals, speeding, and other discourteous acts on the road -- might be linked to a more-positive personal trait:

Wealth.

A researcher at the University of California, Berkeley has unearthed a link between bad driving habits and drivers with big money, according to reports.

It turns out that the pricier a car, the more likely the car's driver is to cut in front of another driver when it's not that driver's turn at a four-way intersection, according to the New York Times's Wheels blog.

And in a study examining how drivers react to waiting to a pedestrian to cross a crosswalk, drivers with less-expensive cars turned out to be most patient.

"BMW drivers," according to researcher Paul K. Piff, "were the worst."

But there's another nugget of interest to Bay Area drivers: Prius drivers also received low marks.

"Prius drivers had a higher tendency to commit infractions than most," according to Piff.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us