Flirting while driving

Male drivers are the kings of the road when it comes to flirting with other motorists...

If a survey commissioned by car manufacturer GM Daewoo (to celebrate the launch of their limited edition Matiz Flirt) is to be believed, Britain is turning into a nation of Romeos and Juliets on the road. Not even the constraints that being behind the wheel naturally imposes on motorists is enough to deter the most determined of them from flirting; when their engine is racing, the love-struck seem to go with it...

The survey (conducted by renowned psychologist Dr David Lewis – the man who first coined the term 'road rage') reveals that around half of all drivers take advantage of increasing highway hold ups to flirt with any road user who catches their eye. Of the sexes, six out of ten men confessed to frequently being attracted to another motorist compared to a third of female drivers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when it comes to age, it's younger motorists (18-34 year olds) that make all the running; almost half admitted to initiating moves on fanciable fellow drivers.

Although not recommended, the survey also revealed the extent that one love-struck driver went to meet the woman who subsequently became his wife – he deliberately drove into the back of her car! Dr David Lewis says, "My research, using hidden cameras, has shown that, when one driver fancies another, his or her first move is to attract attention to themselves. They usually do this by making a specific move."

Flirting at the wheel - it's definitely a phenomenon.

So common has fast lane flirting apparently become that a new language of love is developing on the nations’ roads. Dubbed the 'Vehicle Body Language' (VBL) of Love, it consists of behaviour akin to unspoken chat-up lines (for want of a better phrase). Of the many VBL’s identified by the survey, the top 10 silent signals of attraction were:

A long lingering look (79% of men and 66% of women)

One in five of men said they sat up straighter so as to look taller

One in ten pulled in their stomach to look slimmer

Four out of ten women checked their appearance in the mirror

A third of women tidied their hair or adjusted their make-up

One out of five men tried to edge their car closer to the object of their affection

One in ten scribbled their mobile number on their palms for the other driver

One in twenty noted down the number of the other person’s car

One in ten planned to drive the same route hoping for another meeting

A significant number admitted to an exchange of mutual eye-brow wiggling.