- People with psychopathic traits are more likely to use their phones while driving
- They’re also more likely than average to have committed a driving offence
If you commute during rush hour traffic, then it may sometimes seem like the roads are completely full of psychopaths.
But scientists have now determined that there is one common driving habit which may be a sign somebody is actually a psychopath.
Researchers from the University of Regensburg found a significant correlation between psychopathic traits and using your mobile phone while behind the wheel.
Drivers who tested highly for dark personality traits – Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy – were much more likely to use their phones and to feel less guilty about it.
The study also found that drivers with high levels of psychopathy were a third more likely than average to have committed a traffic offence in the last 12 months.
Scientists say that there is one common driving habit which could be a sign that you (or someone you know) might be a psychopath like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho (pictured)
In the study, the researchers collected data from 989 German drivers who underwent surveys to test for each of the three dark triad personality traits, ranked on a scale of one to five.
Their survey revealed that 61 per cent of the participants admitted to using their smartphone while driving at least occasionally.
However, the researchers discovered that higher scores for any of the three dark triad traits were linked with increased phone use while driving.
The researchers, in their paper published in PLOS One, write: ‘Thus, people with Dark Triad personalities tend to use their phones more often while driving.’
Drivers with higher scores for narcissism and psychopathy were also less likely to feel guilty about their problematic driving behaviour.
Those who scored highly for Machiavellianism, a personality trait often linked to manipulative behaviour, were more likely to try and hide their phone usage.
Researchers found that psycopathic traits as well as narcissism and Machiavellianism were linked with an increased chance of using your mobile phone while driving (file photo)
The researchers also found that psychopathic traits were a good predictor of whether someone would have committed a traffic offence.
For someone with the minimum psychopathy score of one, the researchers predict there is a 9.89 per cent probability of them having committed a driving offence in the last 12 months.
For someone with an average level of psychopathy, the probability of having committed a driving offence is at 24 per cent.
This rises to a 56 per cent chance for a psychopathy score of 4.33, which was the highest score measured by the researchers.
Participants were also tested for problematic smartphone use (PSU), which is an excessive use of phones to the point at which other areas of life are negatively impacted.
The researchers note that this phenomenon may be surprisingly common, with 50 per cent of respondents to one survey saying they could not live without a smartphone.
The researchers found that PSU, regardless of other personality traits, was the strongest predictor of phone use while driving.
Those who answered positively to questions like ‘When I get bored while driving, I spend time on my smartphone’ were also much more likely to exhibit PSU.
According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people in the US were killed by car crashes in 2019.
In that year, 422 people died in crashes in which at least one of the drivers was distracted by a phone.
The researchers therefore suggest that targeting people’s relationships with their phones could help make the roads safer.
By reducing the rates of PSU in everyday life, the researchers argue that people will spend less time on their phones while on the road and become less distracted.
The researchers added: ‘Overall, PSU is an excellent predictor regardless of the Dark Triad personality traits.
‘Since this factor can be changed more easily than personality, PSU should be targeted in public safety interventions’.