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Up to 80% of drivers rated themselves as 'above average' in a survey [0] And there have been similar results in other surveys [0] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.

Up to 80% of drivers rated themselves as 'above average' in a survey [0] And there have been similar results in other surveys [0] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3730094/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3730094/

foepys 6y ago
People seem to be very bad with subjective averages. Just like 80% of men on OkCupid were rated by women to be below average.
- virgilp 6y ago
  That could very well mean that mostly the below-average men are creating accounts on OkCupid, though.
  - foepys 6y ago
    Could be. But men rated women very closely to a normal distribution which makes it not impossible but unlikely.
ComputerGuru 6y ago
I laughed at that statistic the first time I read it, but it isn’t ridiculous. 80% of drivers consider themselves better than what they think of as the average (mean) driver, not average (mode) driver. Same for most surveys. People see how bad the worst is, how good the best is, and then place themselves somewhere above the middle of that range.
- changoplatanero 6y ago
  It could also mean that 80% of people are better than average according to their preferred metric of good driving but that everyone has a different metric.
  - tjoff 6y ago
    And that noone grades themselves on their absolute worst distracted behavior. Whereas what you see/notice in traffic are of other drivers experiencing just that. The majority of drivers are good drivers - most of the time.
- camjohnson26 6y ago
  Ratings: 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Average Rating: 8.2 % Below Average: 10% % Above Average: 90%
  - azinman2 6y ago
    Driving skills are literally to be normally distributed, which this distribution is not.
    - camjohnson26 6y ago
      Disagree, the first driver might get in 1 accident every million miles and the other drivers one every 9 million, objectively 9 times better.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - diggernet 6y ago
        Also, there is a magnifying effect. Every one of those "9" drivers will notice the "1" driver. They'll talk amongst themselves about the terrible drivers they've seen, never knowing they are all talking about the same high-visibility driver. But if one of those "9" drivers is actually a "10", the others could drive alongside them all day long and never even notice, because the "10" driver never did anything to call attention to themselves. Conclusion: "Most drivers [that I notice] suck."
    - azinman2 6y ago
      s/literally/likely
throw2838 6y ago
Selection bias in a survey. Bad drivers do not spend much time on road, do not own vehicle, do not have an insurance on their name, do not even have a valid driving license...

foepys 6y ago

People seem to be very bad with subjective averages. Just like 80% of men on OkCupid were rated by women to be below average.

virgilp 6y ago
That could very well mean that mostly the below-average men are creating accounts on OkCupid, though.
- foepys 6y ago
  Could be. But men rated women very closely to a normal distribution which makes it not impossible but unlikely.

ComputerGuru 6y ago

I laughed at that statistic the first time I read it, but it isn’t ridiculous. 80% of drivers consider themselves better than what they think of as the average (mean) driver, not average (mode) driver. Same for most surveys. People see how bad the worst is, how good the best is, and then place themselves somewhere above the middle of that range.

changoplatanero 6y ago
It could also mean that 80% of people are better than average according to their preferred metric of good driving but that everyone has a different metric.
- tjoff 6y ago
  And that noone grades themselves on their absolute worst distracted behavior. Whereas what you see/notice in traffic are of other drivers experiencing just that. The majority of drivers are good drivers - most of the time.
camjohnson26 6y ago
Ratings: 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Average Rating: 8.2 % Below Average: 10% % Above Average: 90%
- azinman2 6y ago
  Driving skills are literally to be normally distributed, which this distribution is not.
  - camjohnson26 6y ago
    Disagree, the first driver might get in 1 accident every million miles and the other drivers one every 9 million, objectively 9 times better.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - diggernet 6y ago
      Also, there is a magnifying effect. Every one of those "9" drivers will notice the "1" driver. They'll talk amongst themselves about the terrible drivers they've seen, never knowing they are all talking about the same high-visibility driver. But if one of those "9" drivers is actually a "10", the others could drive alongside them all day long and never even notice, because the "10" driver never did anything to call attention to themselves. Conclusion: "Most drivers [that I notice] suck."
  - azinman2 6y ago
    s/literally/likely

throw2838 6y ago

Selection bias in a survey. Bad drivers do not spend much time on road, do not own vehicle, do not have an insurance on their name, do not even have a valid driving license...