Research shows we drive the way we live

Stressed out and unhappy with your life and work? You’re more likely to be an unsafe driver.

New research presented in a National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) webinar shows a clear link between unhappiness in life and the likelihood of being involved in a driving incident.

The research, produced by the University of Waikato in New Zealand and led by Dr Robert Isler, says the lower people rated on a life satisfaction scale, the more chance they were to violate traffic rules.

“We asked several questions on how meaningful they (drivers) feel their life is, how engaged they are, how much pleasure people experience during the day,” Dr Isler told the NRSPP webinar.

“We found this extreme strong correlation between how people judge their lifestyles and the number of incidents they would report in the previous six months. An incident was defined as a fine, a near-miss or a crash.”

Watch and listen to the webinar and discover the research findings for yourself.