The Way You Drive Reveals A Lot About Your Personality, According To A Licensed Therapist
You don't need to drive a race car to have a Mario Andretti personality.
Cleyton Ewerton | Pexels Licensed therapist Jeffrey Meltzer has a psychological theory that the way a person drives is a window into a person's personality. He explained in a video that everything from how you merge to your penchant for putting the pedal to the metal can reveal details about your patience, anger management, risk aversion, and even empathy.
When you think about it, everyone really does drive a little differently. There's no denying that ignoring obvious markers (looking at you, here, road rage), subtle details like how soon you put on your turn signal to how you handle Sunday drivers translate perfectly into how you conduct yourself outside of the car as well.
A licensed therapist explained how the way you drive reveals a lot about your personality.
Meltzer explained that driving is a "social situation," not just an activity you do to get from point A to point B. You're constantly acting and reacting to other people, so it involves traits that we often associate with personality. He said, "It's where patience, frustration tolerance, risk-taking, impulsivity, and even empathy really show up."
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Constantly changing lanes reveals impulsivity
This behavior is annoying to everyone but the person actually doing it. Seriously, even the person who loves to weave through traffic to get one car lane ahead of other drivers gets annoyed when someone else is doing it. Meltzer noted, "If someone is constantly weaving through lanes and cutting people off, you could say they're impulsive, maybe even a bit selfish."
Of course, in our fast-paced lifestyle, high stress and what National Geographic called "urgency culture" is the norm rather than the outlier. Perhaps that means we all have a little bit of impulsivity in us because I think you'd be hard-pressed to find one driver who hasn't been rushing to an appointment or even just to work and cut off the person who wasn't inching up quickly enough in highway traffic.
Merging style reveals level of entitlement
According to Meltzer, your merging style can show either entitlement or people-pleasing tendencies. He said, and it makes sense, drivers who refuse to let other cars in front of them at a yield or merge could be classified as entitled.
However, the pendulum swings the other way, as well. Some people will let all the other cars go, even when it’s their turn. Sure, it could be out of fear, but Meltzer explained that these drivers are like people-pleasers who lean towards being overly cautious and struggle to assert themselves.
Being stuck in traffic reveals self-control
Although being stuck in traffic is always an unpleasant experience, if you're more likely to bop along to music or listen to an audiobook while waiting for traffic to clear rather than scream into the confines of your car while slamming your hands against the wheel, you likely have great stress management skills and are a patient person.
"Driving can show whether someone can delay gratification," Meltzer said. "like waiting calmly in traffic, or if they get irritated the second things don't go their way."
The way you drive can also highlight your stress management skills, your willingness to take unnecessary risks, or your tendency to avoid them.
Road rage is a whole different category of driving behavior.
Meltzer's theory on driving behavior and personality makes sense, even if it's not yet scientifically proven. But there's one specific aspect of driving styles and personality traits he didn't cover: road rage.
The American Psychological Association noted that young males are the most likely to get angry behind the wheel. But there is also an emotional aspect to this issue, as people dealing with displaced anger or high stress can be more prone to road rage. But young men aren't the only frustrated drivers on the roadways.
A 2025 AAA survey found that wealth is also a factor in angry driving. There's long been a stereotype about BMW drivers being, well, kind of the worst, and as it turns out, there's some truth behind it. The survey found that drivers who earn over $100k a year are more likely to engage in road rage. Thankfully, the rage didn't turn to violence and stopped somewhere around flipping the bird and screaming, but still.
In a nutshell, how we behave, whether in the privacy of our own homes or in the drop-off lane at our kids' school, can offer others a glimpse into who we are as individuals. If you want to be a more patient and empathetic person, maybe the best way to start would be simply playing "you go, I go" next time you're merging into traffic.
Matt Machado is a writer studying journalism at the University of Central Florida. He covers relationships, psychology, celebrities, pop culture, and human interest topics.
