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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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14

Bad Driving Is in the Genes

Study says 30% can't help being lousy on the roads

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(Newser) – Certain people—perhaps up to 30% of the population—may be fated by their genetic makeup to be bad drivers, a new study suggests. Researchers tested a small group of people on a driving simulator and found that subjects with a particular gene variant weren't so hot at keeping up with the course’s twists and turns.

The gene variant that correlated to bad driving limits the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which strengthens an individual’s memory by enhancing broader cross-communication between brain areas. There’s good news for the bad drivers, though: other research suggests that the variant helps slow the degenerative effects of multiple sclerosis as well as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, LiveScience reports.

A traffic jam in Brussels.
A traffic jam in Brussels.   (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
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These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away.
- Lead researcher Steven Cramer,
University of California, Irvine

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14 comments
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Netstorm2k9
Oct 29, 09 4:41 PM CDT
I didn't realize only thirty percent of the population were female. (JOKE) I can feel the thumbdowns rolling in already, and haven't even hit submit. You'd think, knowing the response, that I would resist. But.... Reply
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
OWLWOMANXXXX
Oct 29, 09 8:11 PM CDT
bad joke
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0
IN RESPONSE:
Snarfeh
Oct 29, 09 8:49 PM CDT
I would think you'd resist simply because it is a stupid ASSumption, not because of a potential loss of popularity.
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
alkaseltzersammich
Oct 30, 09 1:19 PM CDT
I'm just glad you didn't invoke the chinese and women in your joke. OOPS!
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+2
Galileo
Oct 29, 09 4:44 PM CDT
I've always fantasized that they would add an extra lane to all roads for "good drivers." You'd have to take a new test and get the special good drivers license in order to drive in that lane. Factors which would prevent you from obtaining the license include: driving under the speed limit in the fast lane and not getting over, waiting 10 seconds to move your car once the light turns green, not accelerating when going up a hill, and doing moronic things like texting. Reply
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+5

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