Drivers Person Road Men Driving Polite Slowed Looked

When two people arrive at a door at the same time, the expression Americans use in the U.S. to tell the other person to "go first" (in front of you) is "After you." It is of course considered polite to let the other person go first. But what about when we're driving? We are not nearly as polite.

One 2011 study looked at how polite drivers were by examining whether they let other drivers go first when given the opportunity. The researchers "observed" (watched) drivers at three T-shaped intersections. An "intersection" is where two roads meet or cross each other. A "T-shaped intersection" is where one road ends in another forming a shape that looks like a capital T. Those on the road that ends must stop and wait either for a situation where no cars are crossing the road or for a driver on the other road to slow down and "let them in" (let them go before them). The researchers recorded who, in fact, "gave way to the other driver" (allowed the other person to go first), the kind of car they were driving, whether it was a man or woman driving, and whether the person was alone in the car.

Here's what they found after about a thousand pairs of cars went through the intersections:

- In general, men and women acted "altruistically" (politely; giving something to another without expecting anything in return) at about the same rate. Forty percent of the drivers slowed down to let the stopped driver in.

- Men were more likely to let women drivers in than other men drivers, proving that men still can "act like gentlemen" (kind and courteous, especially to a woman).

- Drivers who looked over 45 years old slowed down more than younger drivers.

- Drivers who had a "passenger" (another person in the car) slowed down much more often than those who were driving alone. We "behave" (act) better when someone we know is watching us.