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You may have already felt this, and now "science" has confirmed it...

Old 02-26-20, 04:11 PM
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genec
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You may have already felt this, and now "science" has confirmed it...

If you drive an expensive car you're probably a jerk, scientists say

Researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas speculated that the expensive car owners "felt a sense of superiority over other road users" and were less able to empathize with lowly sidewalk-dwellers.

They came to this conclusion after asking volunteers to cross a sidewalk hundreds of times, filming and analyzing the responses by car drivers.

But the best predictor of whether a car would stop was its cost, researchers discovered. "Disengagement and a lower ability to interpret thoughts and feelings of others along with feelings of entitlement and narcissism may lead to a lack of empathy for pedestrians" among costly car owners, they theorized in the study.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/world...ntl/index.html

No doubt the entitlement felt by these expensive car drivers is displayed toward "other road users" too... IE, cyclists.
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Old 02-26-20, 07:02 PM
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Moe Zhoost
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More dubious headlines from the media seeking to sensationalize a very limited academic study. Behaviour of drivers at 2 crosswalks in low income neighborhoods in Las Vegas doesn't confirm squat, even though the researchers spent a "lot" of time (4 hours) monitoring.
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Old 02-26-20, 07:15 PM
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My own experience tells me that drivers of pick-up trucks, especially white ones, school buses, transit buses, Mazda 3's and 6's, Hyundai Sonatas, VW Golf TDI's, and pre-2000 Toyota Corollas are the worst drivers. My sample size is well into the 1000's, so, you know.
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Old 02-26-20, 07:37 PM
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As predicted by J. Rosenberg in 2011: https://amultiverse.com/comic/2011/10/24/eat-the-rich/
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Old 02-26-20, 07:56 PM
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Wouldn't surprise me, in the least, to find that there's a strong correlation between wealth and a sense of entitlement (in terms of expecting to get what one wants in situations).

Can't say that I've witnessed nuttier driving behavior on public roads from drivers of expensive vehicles. Have probably had a greater number of wonky drivers misbehaving around me in vehicles they seemingly were less concerned about, if I were to guess based on my experiences.

Lovely headline to the article, though. It'll garner a lot more "eyes" that way. Irrespective of the legitimacy of any conclusions reached in the "research."
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Old 02-26-20, 08:13 PM
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I always thought it was pretty random...
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Old 02-26-20, 11:45 PM
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You'd think that if you drive an expensive car, you'd drive more carefully so as to avoid any kind of damage especially from collisions. I guess if the owners think they're rich, then they can afford the ever increasing insurance premiums, repairs costs and traffic fines.
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Old 02-27-20, 12:39 AM
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I think that if you spent that much money on a car you probably have the right and don't want the car messed up, outrun etc.

And I've said this before, possibly on this site. Or some other site. But I'm citing a site.
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Old 02-27-20, 10:57 AM
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It is no surprise that some of the people who drive expensive cars would feel entitled or lack compassion. What I really want to know is why, after over 5000 years of human recorded history, there are people who believe Earth is flat. Now there is something worth knowing.
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Old 02-27-20, 11:18 AM
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I love it when subject line says science confirmed something and then it links to an article what starts with subject line saying that it is "probably" true :-)
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Old 02-27-20, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by PedalingWalrus
I love it when subject line says science confirmed something and then it links to an article what starts with subject line saying that it is "probably" true :-)
Science only deals in probabilities of truth. Now, if religion had confirmed it you could take it to the bank.
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Old 02-27-20, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by mcours2006
My own experience tells me that drivers of pick-up trucks, especially white ones, school buses, transit buses, Mazda 3's and 6's, Hyundai Sonatas, VW Golf TDI's, and pre-2000 Toyota Corollas are the worst drivers. My sample size is well into the 1000's, so, you know.
You left out BMW 3 Series drivers.
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Old 02-27-20, 06:15 PM
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If someone took a poll and put it in General Cycling, I'd bet a high percentage of BF members drive "expensive" vehicles.

BTW, I drive a common low end car and I'm a jerk . . . to inattentive and dangerous drivers.
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Old 02-27-20, 06:51 PM
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minivans and trucks my dood, minivans and trucks
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Old 02-28-20, 09:56 AM
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The study looks like it only dealt with pedestrian/vehicle interactions. There is a whole other dynamic going on with bikes/vehicles. Sharing (or not sharing) the same space causes more friction. I have found hostile, selfish and bad drivers come from all income levels while cycling.
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Old 02-29-20, 09:51 AM
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one doesn’t have to drive an expensive car to be a you-know-what & riding a bike doesn’t mean one is immune from being one

the most egregious driver I ever encountered was in a Prius. I think he was pissed I was using less gas than him

Last edited by rumrunn6; 02-29-20 at 09:54 AM.
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Old 02-29-20, 10:13 AM
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Streetsblog article regarding the same study.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2020/02/...wards-walkers/
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Old 02-29-20, 12:50 PM
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Let's just make a clarification. The studies don't say that only jerks drive expensive cars or that jerks drive only expensive cars. The studies indicate the driver is more likely to be a jerk than drivers in less expensive cars. Meaning that drivers of less expensive cars can be jerks too but the likelihood is not as bad.

Last edited by Daniel4; 02-29-20 at 01:09 PM.
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Old 02-29-20, 03:47 PM
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If this is true, it should be reflected in crash statistics and liability insurance costs, for which there should be extensive data. That would produce a lot more believable result than some observational study.
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Old 02-29-20, 04:25 PM
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SUVs are expensive, right?


BMW:
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Old 02-29-20, 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Gresp15C
If this is true, it should be reflected in crash statistics and liability insurance costs, for which there should be extensive data. That would produce a lot more believable result than some observational study.
Only if the drivers actually crash... a situation not required while failing to stop for crossing peds. How do you record, close calls and bad attitude? How do you measure "get off the road" and excessive honking?

There has been an increase in ped deaths, but that is being blamed on users staring at phones vice being hit by aggressive drivers.
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Old 02-29-20, 09:33 PM
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Pretty poor "research". They extrapolate from who stopped for a pedestrian (not stated where in the cross walk they were) into motives for not stopping. Then, they have no definition of "expensive" car, but in the discussion a different study apparently found the problem was "flashy" cars. I don't know how they determined the cost of all the vehicles they saw.

scott s.
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Old 02-29-20, 11:11 PM
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Not gonna argue on this. Just the sound of their sports car makes me wanna slow down.
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Old 03-01-20, 07:10 AM
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It's impossible to separate data from confirmation bias, but pickup trucks always seem to be in the biggest hurry in my experience.
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Old 03-01-20, 07:49 AM
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Be afraid of anyone driving a wreck and carrying no insurance.
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