If He Exhibits These 11 Driving Habits, He's Not a Good Guy | Joy Nordenstrom

Beyond having a high regard for your life, paying attention to a guy's driving skills and habits behind the wheel can tell you a lot about his most dominant personality traits.

A relatively new vein of scientific research called traffic psychology has, in recent years been able to decipher a good deal about someone’s personality based on how they drive and their behavior around their cars. Chances are a guy's driving habits will enlighten you to his long-term, "Mr. Right" potential.

Use these first few weeks and months as a barometer, from the first time he picks you up until you take your first day trip together. Pay close attention to what his driving habits reveal about who he really is, as you are being a private detective for your heart.

RELATED: A Personality Test That Reveals What Kind Of Driver You Are

Good driver, good person?

Before you get in the car with a new date, you'll want to assess whether he has the initial positive character traits that would lead him to be a good, if not excellent, driver in the first place.

• He pays attention to detail.
• He uses good judgment.
• He appears to have self-control.
• He is gracious and thoughtful.
• He has good sportsmanship.
• He has a sense of humor.

There are several factors that will influence a man's ability to drive well: his emotional state, innate personality, and the weather conditions, to name a few.

As a rule of thumb, always take an assessment of your date’s emotional and physical states before trusting him to drive you anywhere. Anytime you allow someone else to be in control of the driving, think twice about their driving abilities and their physical and emotional states before becoming their passenger.

Studies prove that men have better driving habits when someone is in the car with them, so your new date will likely be driving his best with you anyway.

Still, deciphering if he’s reliable behind the wheel is important for your well-being, beyond the obvious reasons of avoiding riding with bad drivers. During the courting phase and throughout the lifetime of your potential relationship, men do a majority of the driving in heterosexual partnerships.

RELATED: If He Has These 10 Rare Traits, He's A Good Man You Can Count On

Bad driver — dealbreaker 

Men should beware that many women list being a “bad driver” as a deal-breaker in relationships. If some bad driving habits are revealed early in a dating journey, with or most likely without a conversation, that strike against him is likely to become the impetus for ending a courtship.

As a woman who may someday like to start a family, a man’s driving behaviors are critical not only for her but for her future children. And chances are, when the opportunity to drive your kids around arises, it will come with sub-optimal conditions — being tired and distracted by little ones — which will lower his reaction times.

On a grander level, a gentleman’s behaviors around his car also provide several clues as to whether or not you can trust him to take good care of you and your potential family.

Of course, as a motorist, anyone can make mistakes from time to time. But when dating, it’s imperative to take notes on his behaviors behind the wheel because they aren’t bound to change much going forward in your relationship.

Plus, they can tell you a lot about who he really is.

RELATED: 11 Qualities Of A Good Man To Look For

If he exhibits these 11 driving habits, he's not a good guy:

1. Not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk

Looking for a partner who is courteous? Not stopping or yielding to pedestrians might indicate a guy thinks more highly of himself than he does of others. He may think his time is more valuable than others or see himself as being above the law.

Here is an interesting finding from the University of California, Berkeley: Researchers noted that none — not one — of the cars in the “beater-car category" drove through the crosswalk, endangering the lives of the pedestrians during their studies. However, people who drove luxury or premium cars were not nearly as observant of the traffic laws.

If your guy does this, notice if he was daydreaming, distracted with all the fancy gadgets in his car, or potentially busy on his smartphone. As a potential suitor, analyze the whole picture and how habitually it happens.

2. Not giving the right of way

There is a higher likelihood that someone who drives a luxury vehicle will act as if they are more important. It’s a version of being classist, but on the road.

If you saw your new potential match exhibiting this behavior, I would also pay close attention to how he treats the valet, waitstaff or porter. If he treats them poorly, you may have someone showing signs of narcissism.

The combination of someone who has an avoidant attachment style, in combination with having self-centered thinking, is always a sign to run the other direction.

3. Waving 'thank you' when another car lets him merge or cut in

These are signs of a true gentleman. Being able to admit when he's made a mistake is an incredibly important personality trait in a budding partner.

The “thank you" wave as someone yields to you is an indication of acknowledging another’s thoughtfulness and shows he doesn’t have a feeling of entitlement.

It’s just good etiquette and most likely spills over into how he deals with people off the road, too. Being gracious and kind are two of the most sought-after personal characteristics of any potential life partner.

4. Pumping on and off the breaks (aka not maintaining a consistent speed)

As a passenger on a date, this is one of the most annoying things to suffer through and a sign he clearly hasn't mastered driving yet.

There may be reasons he doesn't feel like a confident driver. Maybe he was in a car wreck as a kid and has PTSD around driving. Or maybe he's colorblind and that makes him doubt his abilities.

If you feel he is wonderful on a majority of other levels, it may be time to suggest you take the keys and do the driving for the two of you more often than not. You could also gently suggest he take some advanced driving skills classes.

It’s good to gauge if a trait or behavior is modifiable and, if it's not, to discover ways to work with the limitations.

RELATED: Men With These 20 Personality Traits Make The Best Dads

5. Distracted driving

This is especially a concern for guys with ADHD. Research from the National Center of ADD confirms drivers with ADHD appear particularly at risk to distractions during periods of low stimulus or dull driving, such as long-distance highway driving. Distractions can be anything, including changing radio stations, eating, talking, and daydreaming.

If your potential love admits to having ADHD, suggest that you do a majority of the driving — especially at times when he’s experiencing higher symptoms, like during long car trips or late-night highway driving.

6. Pulling over quickly for emergency vehicles and funeral processions

Not only is this the lawful thing to do, but it’s also courteous. Luckily, most guys do this automatically, but for if a guy doesn't, it's a giant "red flag" that he has narcissistic behaviors — thinking he's better than others and that the laws don’t apply to him.

However, one thing even gentlemen may be unaware of is the necessity to pull over when an emergency vehicle passes on the other side of the street, but most state traffic laws require it.

7. Deliberately 'blocking the box'

"Blocking the box" is when the traffic ahead is backed up but a guy goes through a yellow light anyway, so he ends up blocking the intersection Statistically speaking, the same team of researchers from Berkley (the ones who analyzed a person's prevalence for blocking the pedestrian walkway based on the type of car they drove) found individuals who have "nicer" cars tend to do this more often than owners of less prestigious vehicles.

If a guy blocks the box, this could show he thinks more highly of his time than that of others. Done consistently, it indicates he is rude and uses poor judgment.