BRITS have revealed their biggest “driving icks”, with potential partners put off by everything from how your car looks to how you drive it.
The new data also provided insight into an interesting split between men and women when it comes to motoring turn-offs.
GettyBrits have revealed their biggest turn-offs on the road[/caption]
The poll from car finance app Carmoola, weighted to represent the general population, found that aggressive driving is the biggest “ick”, with half of Brits unimpressed by road raging dates.
An “ick” is a term largely coined on social media referring to a single act or behaviour that instantly kills your attraction to somebody.
A whopping 63% of women found angry driving unattractive, compared with 48% of men.
The state of your motor is also important, with 51% of those surveyed saying a smelly car was off-putting and 46% citing a dirty car interior as a big no-no.
Again, this was more prevalent for women, with 53% being turned off by poor car cleanliness versus 43% of men.
Other major “icks” included speeding (36%), horn honking (34%) and failing to indicate (27%).
However, the study revealed that the actual make and model of your car is likely less of an issue than you might think.
Whether you have a Fiat or a Ferrari, only 16% of respondents said that the namebadge made a difference for them.
And this category was one of the few to reverse the gender balance, with 18% of men caring about who made the vehicle, compared to just 13% of women.
There is, though, bad news for all the non-petrolheads out there, as a whopping 63% of Brits said that it was important that their potential partner be able to drive.
Women were particularly keen on drivers, with 70% citing it as a significant factor in the attractiveness of a potential love interest.
Men, it seems, were a lot more forgiving of the automotive amateurs, with only 57% saying their partner would need to be comfortable behind the wheel.
Aidan Rushby, chief exec of Carmoola, said: “Shared interests and common values are clearly more important when it comes to long-term compatibility, but our research shows that your car can greatly influence how attractive someone else finds you to be.
“While also being unsafe, aggressive driving is highly likely to see your love life screeching to a halt; while a car that smells like last week’s takeaway or a gym bag might leave your chances of a second date on the hard shoulder.
“Of course, whether someone can drive shouldn’t really matter when it comes to love, nor should the car they own be a concern for anyone they’re dating.
“But, like it or not, our poll demonstrates that people do make judgments based on these things.
“If someone judges you for something superficial like the age of your car, or its make/model, it probably says more about them than you, but it’s not going to hurt your chances in the pursuit of love to keep your road rage in check and maintain your motor.”
It comes after nearly half of drivers claimed that they face dangerous blind spots in their cars as experts hail a possible new tech solution.