We can all be quick to judge people by the cars they drive, trying to draw links between their vehicles and their driving skills (or lack of). But are the stereotypes accurate? At Van Monster we asked 2,000 people, driving the UK’s top 20 cars of 2018 to anonymously confess their driving sins, revealing who is really causing havoc on the roads of the UK. Their answers expose the seemingly worst culprits for all the driving habits we as a nation loathe, from leaving dents in a parked car, parking on the double yellows in front of school gates, to road rage you want to avoid feeling the wrath of.
Drivers Most Likely to…
| Drivers Most Likely To… | Top Culprit (%) | 2nd Place (%) | 3rd Place (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open their car door into someone else’s | 28.5% – Range Rover Drivers | 27.6% – Audi Drivers | 25.8% – Volkswagen Drivers |
| Knock or break a wing mirror on another car | 20% – Range Rover Drivers | 18.1% – Toyota Drivers | 17.7% – BMW Drivers |
| Scratch someone else’s car | 22.9% – Toyota Drivers | 19.2% – Hyundai Drivers | 16.9% – BMW Drivers |
| Reverse into a car in the car park | 18.6% – Audi Drivers | 18.1% – Toyota Drivers | 18% – Range Rover Drivers |
| Damage their partner, family member or friend’s car whilst driving it | 18% – Range Rover Drivers | 16.2% – BMW Drivers | 14.7% – Mercedes-Benz Drivers |
The Motoring Angels
| Volvo Drivers | Hyundai Drivers | Honda Drivers |
| 64.6% | 67.3% | 64.6% |
Range Rover drivers in our survey ranked top for knocking or breaking the wing mirror of other cars, and for opening their car doors straight into someone else’s. Those drivers also came in at a very close third place for the drivers most likely to reverse their car into someone else’s whilst parking, just behind the Audi and Toyota drivers surveyed.
In our survey, Range Rover drivers also admitted to damaging the cars around them, with just under 1 in 5 (18%) admitting to damaging a partner, family member or friend’s car whilst driving it. According to our results, Honda drivers are the safest hands to leave your car in, with just 4.2% admitting to damaging a borrowed car.
Ever returned to your car and discovered an ugly scratch has suddenly appeared down its side? If our survey results are anything to go by, it may have been a Toyota driver with 22.9% of Toyota drivers in our survey admitting to leaving a scratch on another’s car. At the other end of the table, only 4% of Citroen drivers in our study admitted to committing this sin.
Most Honest and Dishonest Drivers
Admitted fault to the other party involved
Volvo Drivers |
Hyundai Drivers |
Mercedes-Benz Drivers |
| 42.5% | 41.2% | 38.8% |
Didn’t admit it to the other party involved
Audi Drivers |
SEAT Drivers |
BMW Drivers |
| 40% | 40% | 38.6% |
If you accidentally damage another driver’s car, do you confess or panic and run? 40% of both the Audi and SEAT drivers we surveyed admitted the latter. In comparison, 42.5% of Volvo drivers and 41.18% of Hyundai drivers revealed they’re more likely to own up and inform the other driver of the damage.
Of the 2,000 participants surveyed, the top two reasons UK drivers don’t confess to the damage were panic and to avoid confrontation, but 20% admitted they fled because they didn’t want to have to cough up the cash for repairs. 1 in 10 didn’t want their partners to find out, whilst 9.9% just didn’t care enough to own up.
Motorists Causing Mayhem
| Drivers Most Likely To… |
Top Culprit (%) |
2nd Place (%) |
3rd Place (%) |
Highest % Which Have Never Done This |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park across two public car park spaces | 32.4% – Audi Drivers | 25.7% – Mercedes-Benz Drivers | 20% – BMW Drivers | 87.1% – SEAT Drivers |
| Leave a passive aggressive note on someone’s windscreen | 14.9% – Nissan Drivers | 14.5% – Audi Drivers | 14% – Range Rover Drivers | 90.4% – Hyundai Drivers |
| Ignore directional arrows in a car park | 46.4% – Mazda Drivers | 44.4% – MINI Drivers | 43.4% – Toyota Drivers | 62.1% – Volvo Drivers |
| Park on the double yellow lines outside a school | 15.9% – Audi Drivers | 12.8% – Mercedes-Benz Drivers | 12.1% – Volkswagen Drivers | 94.5% – Fiat Drivers |
| Park in a parent and child space, without a child | 20% – Audi Drivers | 17.9% – Mazda Drivers | 16.1% – SEAT Drivers | 89.8% – Kia Drivers |
| Cut someone up when changing lanes | 32.1% – Mazda Drivers | 24.8% – Mercedes-Benz Drivers | 24.1% – Audi Drivers | 74.6% – Kia Drivers |
| Suffer from road rage whilst driving | 45.2% – SEAT Drivers | 40% – Audi Drivers | 38.9% – MINI Drivers | 65.5% – Volvo Drivers |
By parking across two spaces in a full car park, you’re bound to make a few enemies and almost a third (32.4%) of the Audi drivers surveyed admitted to doing this more than once. They also ranked top as most likely to repeatedly park on double yellow lines outside of schools and park in parent and child spaces, without a child.
Mazda drivers also owned up to some dodgy driving habits, with the highest % of drivers surveyed admitting to cutting others up when changing lanes and ignoring directional arrows in a car park. Nissan drivers are seemingly keen users of a passive aggressive note placed on another driver’s window screen, with 1 in 8 (14.9%) admitting to venting their annoyance more than once through this method.
Of the 2,000 drivers surveyed SEAT owners admit to being the hot heads, with the highest number of self-confessed road ragers – 42.5% admitted to losing their cool repeatedly. Compare that to the 65.5% of Volvo drivers surveyed who said they have never experienced road rage.
Road Ragers
| Drivers Most Likely To… |
Top Culprit (%) |
2nd Place (%) |
3rd Place (%) |
Highest % Which Have Never Done This |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shout | 58.1% – SEAT Drivers | 56.6% – Audi Drivers | 55.3% – Renault Drivers | 55.2% – Volvo Drivers |
| Shout at other drivers | 52.4% – Audi Drivers | 50.6% – Nissan Drivers | 45.2% – SEAT Drivers | 56.7% – Vauxhall Drivers |
| Swear | 67% – Mazda Drivers | 58.5% – Renault Drivers | 58.3% – MINI Drivers | 55.2% – Volvo Drivers |
| Make hand gestures | 50% – Skoda Drivers | 50% – Mazda Drivers | 46.2% – Fiat Drivers | 55.2% – Volvo Drivers |
| Beep Horn | 56.9% – Renault Drivers | 54.2% – MINI Drivers | 54% – Range Rover Drivers | 44.8% – Volvo Drivers |
| Get out of the car to talk to other motorists | 15.2% – Audi Drivers | 12% – Toyota Drivers | 11.5% – Nissan Drivers | 44.8% – Volvo Drivers |
| Throw an object out of window | 11.5% – Nissan Drivers | 11% – Audi Drivers | 10% – Range Rover Drivers | 97.4% – Skoda Drivers |
Talking of road rage, SEAT drivers seemingly suffer with road rage the most, as out of all the drivers surveyed they also ranked top for shouting. Over half (52.4%) of the Audi drivers in our study admitted to repeatedly shouting at other drivers, whilst 15.2% have also gotten out of their car to confront other drivers on more than one occasion.
67% of the Mazda drivers surveyed admitted to swearing as a way to vent their rage on more than one occasion, whilst half of all Skoda drivers in our study said they have used hand gestures to let other drivers know they aren’t happy.
56.9% of Renault drivers admit to beeping their horn during road rage and 1 in 10 (11.5%) of the Nissan owners surveyed admitted to throwing something out of their car window during the heat of the moment. In comparison, Volvo owners came out as the lowest % of drivers for shouting, swearing, hand gestures, horn beeping and getting out of their car.
Whether you drive a Ford van, Citroen Berlingo van, Mercedes van or something else, stay safe on the roads by following the highway code and keeping an eye out for those dodgy drivers. If you’re looking to buy a van near you, visit the Van Monster catalogue of used vans for sale and view our wide range of immaculate second hand vans all over the UK and Ireland.
