Bad driver? Blame your genes
WASHINGTON - No need to curse that bad driver weaving in and out of the lane in front of you -- he cannot help it, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
They found that people with a particular gene variant performed more than 20% worse on a driving test than people with a different DNA sequence.
The study may explain why there are so many bad drivers out there -- about 30% of Americans have the variant, the team at the University of California Irvine found.
"These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away," Dr. Steven Cramer, who led the study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, said in a statement.
Cramer and his team tested 29 people -- 22 without the gene variant and seven who had it -- asking them to drive 15 laps on a simulator and then repeat the task a week later.
To their surprise, they found that those with the mutant gene did worse, consistently.
The gene controls a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which affects memory.
The team was not really looking for insights into driving but chose the driving test because it uses common skills.
"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."
as of 10/29/2009 7:04 PM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/10/29/09/bad-driver-blame-your-genes
My rant of the morning is for that stupid Indian driver in a Silver Kia who was driving at 45kph in the fast lane on the Corniche yesterday, and when I flashed at him to move to the inside lane at him, the DH braked to let me know that he was not happy so I flashed at him even more. He stopped in the middle of the Road and we both got out of our cars and had a not so friendly discussion on who was right and who was wrong.
Does being an Indian got anything to do with bad driving, plus I think it was also the fault of that damn KIA car, which makes him think that he owns the effing Road?
No offence intended to anyone, except that idiot driver.
O I feel so much better now..:)
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"HE WHO DARES WINS"
Derek Edward Trotter
UkEng, i have the same rant.. some idiot was driving in front of us in the fast lane and he was going soooooo slow.. :(
The sample is overwhelmingly large: 29 people. What a joke to make a general statement based on such numbers!
"Love Me or Leave Me"
(MagicDragon)