Study Finds British Motorists Curse Every 2.5 Miles; See What Sets Them Off

A recent study commissioned by Hyundai found that UK motorists can be a bit foul-mouthed after polling 2,000 drivers about the issue.

The findings showed that people will typically swear 41 times for every 100 miles (160 km) traveled, while also letting out a curse word or phrase once every two and a half miles. Since the typical motorist drives 373 miles (600 km) to and from work per month, that means that they’ll curse 152 times on average.

“It’s been fascinating to delve into the mindset of drivers with this research, which has been commissioned as part of Clean Driving Month where we’re calling on all drivers to drive a little bit cleaner,” said Hyundai UK exec Sylvie Childs. “Whether that’s getting in the right mindset to keep their attitude and language clean, improving their driving style or championing the benefits of alternative fuels.”

The study also showed that 9 out of 10 UK adults admit to cursing while behind the wheel, however 61% of parents said that they tend to keep their language in check when children are present inside the vehicle. In fact, child-friendly curse-word substitutes include the likes of “fudging hell” or “what a plonker”.

As for what triggers drivers most often, it’s things like getting cut off or people who park over two spaces.

So what do you do if you want to keep your cool more often? According to consumer psychologist Patrick Fagan, you can try listening to peaceful music or eating some chocolate.

Finally, here’s a complete list of the top 30 things that are most likely to make motorists lose their temper verbally:

1. Someone cutting you up
2. When someone nearly changes lanes into you
3. When you see someone texting and driving
4. When someone doesn’t use their indicator
5. A pedestrian stepping into the road without looking
6. When someone leaves their high beams on
7. Someone driving too slowly in front of you
8. When people park over two spaces
9. When someone doesn’t thank you for waiting for them
10. When someone stays in the middle lane of the motorway
11. Getting stuck behind a tractor
12. When someone beeps at you
13. When a cyclist runs a red light
14. When a lorry slowly overtakes another one, causing a tailback
15. When you get flashed by a speed camera
16. When you’re stuck in traffic
17. Getting stuck behind a cyclist
18. Running late
19. Being stuck in a traffic jam
20. When someone undertakes you on the motorway
21. Someone speeding past you
22. Getting stuck behind a lorry
23. When someone takes too long to park
24. When people ‘rubberneck’ at traffic accidents
25. One of your passengers ‘backseat driving’
26. Getting stuck behind a bus
27. Getting stuck behind a milk float
28. Hitting a red light
29. Having to slow down for speed bumps
30. Being held up by an accident up ahead

Which of these makes you fly off the handle most frequently?