Cars

If you do this while driving, you might be a psychopath, scientists say 

Talk about a highway to hell.

New research has found that people who commonly text and drive are concerningly associated with psychopathic behavior.

The new data — from interviews with nearly 1,000 German drivers, about 73% of them women found a shocking 600-plus participants, or about 61%, admitted to “problematic” use of their devices while driving.

Texting behind the wheel may put you in the "dark triad" of personality traits.
Texting behind the wheel may put you in the “dark triad” of personality traits. Aleksej – stock.adobe.com

Along with connections to fear of missing out and anti-social behavior, problematic smartphone users (PSU) evoked three negative traits known as the “dark triad” — narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, which unrelated research also recently connected to drivers with deliberately loud cars.

“[Problematic smartphone use] is an excellent predictor regardless of the Dark Triad personality traits,” the study authors wrote, adding a potential prescription for addressing the issue.

“Since this factor can be changed more easily than personality, PSU should be targeted in public safety interventions, driving training and court-mandated medical-psychological assessment of driver fitness.”

Texting while driving is connected to psychotic behavior, new research shows.
Texting while driving is connected to psychotic behavior, new research shows. lightpoet – stock.adobe.com

The research team also proposed other ways to curb the habitual use of cell phones.

“It might be a good strategy to help people reduce their PSU in everyday life, which should indirectly decrease the chances of using their phones on the road and prevent accidents and fatal crashes.”