There is no place where a person feels more comfortable than behind the wheel. In the car world, many find themselves invisible and unheard. We sing loudly to the radio, grumble unfettered at our fellow road users and pick our noses or ears without embarrassment.
We do it often, behavioral scientists at the University of Nottingham note. The average driver touches his face thirty times an hour. So every two minutes. In about half of the cases it touches its mucous membranes. The driver digs his nose, mouth or eyes every five minutes. The researchers saw this after looking at hours of footage of experienced drivers. They write in Ergonomics, man or woman, old or young, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is equally disgusted in the car.
TomTom makes problems worse
It is very unhealthy behaviour. After all, we choose with the tip of a finger or thumb. It is often skipped when washing hands. The car is a massive place where the virus you picked up somewhere without thinking travels to the vulnerable airways.
what should be done? The researchers noted that people kept their hands on the steering wheel much more when traffic required attention. Driver-assist devices, such as TomTom, only exacerbate the problem. Perhaps manufacturers could develop other tools that alert the driver to his or her behavior. But then again, that was just the magic of driving. Finally, a place where you don’t have to worry about your partner or mom yelling at you: “Don’t hold your nose that way!”
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