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Bad Driving Is in the Genes

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

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:37 PM CDT
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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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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 11 comments
Snarfeh
Oct 31, 2009 4:57 AM CDT
@ Count Spat - You nailed it. Obliviousness. Perfect. Thank you.
Count-Spatula
Oct 30, 2009 11:52 AM CDT
Gallileo... other things that should prevent people from driving are - turning off into a strip mall at 2 mph, and pulling your car half into the left turn lane, thus blocking the next lane. I should be able to shoot these people. Also, the worst idea ever produced by western culture is Soccer moms in SUVs. i.e. Let's give a gender with no spatial perception the biggest vehicle on the road.
Count-Spatula
Oct 30, 2009 11:48 AM CDT
NO, No study needed - The reason drivers suck on the road, is that people are naturally oblivious, and have no capacity to understand the effects of their actions upon a system. Stir in social devices, and the suction increases. People drive like they walk; oblivious. Parents used to teach children to be aware of their surroundings but that got pushed aside to grow their precious little egos.

 
motorists • genetic modification • brain • genes • driving • multiple sclerosis

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