Reacting quickly in traffic is decisive. But that doesn't mean that all drivers are equally good at it. A new survey has found the worst and the best.
Reaction time in traffic is decisive. Some drivers are just better at it than others. Also when you divide the drivers by brand.
This is shown by a new survey from English Scrap Car Comparison.
These are exactly the same types who last year determined that BMW owners have psychopath-like traits in traffic.
But back to the new investigation. It was conducted among 2,000 motorists who own cars from a range of 27 different brands. It was compared with the age of the drivers.
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The survey shows that overall, Volvo owners have the fastest average reaction time of 0.401 seconds. These car owners are on average 32 years old. Or at least their reaction time corresponds to that.
At an average age of 33, Jaguar owners are a bit slower to react. Namely 0.409 seconds. Suzuki owners round off the top 3. They are on average 33 years old when they can react in 0.413 seconds.
In comparison, an 18-year-old needs approximately 0.3 seconds to react, while a 70-year-old reacts in approximately 0.8 seconds. According to the people behind the survey, the reaction time of Volvo owners corresponds on average to an age of 32.
From the top three it only gets worse. In other words, it's going downhill. Conversely, drivers are also getting older and older.
The reaction time of Tesla owners corresponds to them being 40 years old on average. But that's only enough for 22nd place. It is worse in both Peugeot, Mini, Hyundai and Kia models. And we still haven't hit rock bottom.
That – the bottom, that is – is what Mercedes owners worry about. Their reaction time corresponds to being 45 years old behind the wheel. Specifically, Mercedes owners take an average of 0.527 seconds to react to something in traffic.
The survey also shows that people who drive a car with an automatic transmission react a little slower than people who have to keep track of three pedals. The difference is small: 0.459 seconds in cars with manual transmission versus 0.468 seconds in cars with automatic transmission. But the difference is there.
Conversely, the survey also shows that people in electric and hybrid cars react faster than both those in diesel and petrol cars. It's slower for people in diesel cars.
The diesel cars' general reaction time is 0.464 seconds. Which corresponds to the fact that they have an average age of 39 years. The actual age of diesel drivers is 45 years. At least in England.
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