GettyA study has found the first-born sibling is usually the ‘worst driver’.
Now, as somebody who happens to be the eldest of three, and who wrote off two cars in under two years, I’m thinking there might just be some truth in it.
Not only did both my sisters pass at the age of 17, and never had a crash, I passed at 25, and have had two bad crashes and plenty of bumps – I now no longer drive if I can help it.
E!According to new research, Privilege Car Insurance found first-borns are actually bloody awful drivers.
The study looked at the driving habits of 1,395 motorists, and discovered a huge percentage of older siblings are more likely to develop bad driving habits.
In fact, 89 per cent of eldest siblings are likely to speed, 35 per cent will receive fines as a result, 47 per cent will cut off fellow drivers, and 46 per cent are likely to use the middle of the road, Metro reports.
E4According to the study, all the information indicates the eldest sibling is more likely to either ’cause or be in an accident’ because of trying to multi-task while driving.
30 per cent were found to break the law by using their mobile phones, while another 17 per cent admitted to applying make-up while driving.
This resulted in 22 per cent having minor collisions, and 15 per cent having a serious incident in the last five years.
Now I may have written off cars, and had a few bumps along the way, but I’ve never had a fine for speeding, or used my phone behind the wheel, or cut people up, and so on – because, while I’m a pretty terrible driver, I’m not reckless. Be careful out there.
Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege DriveXpert, told the Metro:
Sibling rivalry is a famous family issue, in particular when arguing over who is the better driver.
Younger drivers with DriveXpert telematics policies are given a score based on their safe driving ability.
This technology can not only encourage safe driving and reward those who do so with lower insurance premiums, but can also help siblings decide once and for all who is best behind the wheel.
ABCI’m going to go and stick up for fellow eldest siblings here, because they’re apparently more intelligent than their younger brothers and sisters.
According to the University of Edinburgh:
Researchers say the findings could help to explain the so-called birth order effect when children born earlier in a family enjoy better wages and more education in later life.
Economists at the University of Edinburgh, Analysis Group and the University of Sydney examined data from the US Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a dataset collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nearly 5,000 children were observed from pre-birth to age 14 for the study, with every child assessed every two years.
GettyThe tests included reading recognition, such as matching letters, naming names and reading single words aloud, as well as picture vocabulary assessments.
The findings continued:
Findings showed advantages enjoyed by first born siblings start very early in life – from just after birth to three years of age. The differences increased slightly with age, and showed up in test scores that measured verbal, reading, math and comprehension abilities.
Can’t argue that!
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