New Study Potentially Links Enjoyment of Loud Cars and Psychopaths

In the "Didn't expect that" world today, we learn that loud cars and psychopaths may be related.

Often times car enthusiasts will modify their ride's exhaust system to give them a little extra roar. If you're on the road regularly chances are you've heard the souped-up mufflers every so often. While this type of behavior can be seen as obnoxious to most motorists, it could also suggest something far darker beneath the surface. According to a new study from Western University in Canada, there is a "strong correlation" between young men who enjoy extra loud cars, and the traits of sadism and psychopathy.

The study was conducted by Julie Aitken Schermer, a professor of psychology and management and organizational studies at Western University in London, Ontario. In an interview with CBC News, Schermer explained that her interest in this topic stemmed from her own personal experience with loud motorists.

"Every day we come across these loud cars and pickup trucks and motorcycles that are backfiring and I get startled," said Schermer, "I thought, 'Oh, who really wants to make this kind of noise?' And so a typical academic, I went and did an extensive search and found nothing."

With that, Schermer sought to conduct her own study profiling the most consistent character traits amongst fans of noisy car mods. According to a summary of her research from Psychology Today, college-aged students were asked how much they consider their car to be an extension of themselves. They were also asked whether they thought loud cars were "cool", and if they would ever modify their car to make it louder.

In addition to these questions, subjects were also tasked with completing a self-assessment test under the Dark Tetrad. As its name implies, the Dark Tetrad details more sinister aspects of human behavior, such as sadism, psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism.

At the start of the study, Schermer hypothesized that fans of loud cars would consistently score highly for narcissism under the Dark Triad. This would make sense, given the natural assumption that drivers with souped up cars attach all those bells and whistles to be seen and heard.

However, it appears that, by and large, those who were tested scored higher in the personality dimensions of everyday sadism and psychopathy.

Schermer believes this could be cause for alarm, as she detailed further in Psychology Today. "The results are concerning in that they suggest that individuals who make their vehicles loud may be doing so to deliberately hurt others by disturbing them and that these individuals may be motivated by the negative state that they cause others."

Admittedly, further research needs to be done on the matter. Until that happens you shouldn't just automatically assume that anyone who likes loud cars is a psychopath out to hurt you. Is it obnoxious? Sure. Should you still roll your eyes at them and flip them the bird? Absolutely you should. Just don't make assumptions about them while doing so.

It sadly may not come as much of a surprise, but a recent study says that Robeson County and Columbus County in North Carolina, are among the most dangerous in the United States for drivers.

A personal injury attorney firm in Florida, Anijar & Levine, did the study. They looked at the number of deaths caused by car accidents from 2018 to 2021, with data compiled from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Only counties with 50,000 or more people were analyzed for the study, and it came with some sad results.

Most notably, the data showed that Robeson County had the highest number of total car accident deaths during the four-year period. There were 263 people killed in Robeson County during that time period.

"This data shows us the counties with the highest number of deaths caused by car crashes over four years. Arizona has the most number of counties featured in the top 10, with Apache, Gila and Navajo all included. States such as Virginia, Tennessee, and Nevada only have one county featured in the top 50," Anijar & Levine said in a news release. "There are many reasons as to why car crashes happen, whether that be the fault of an individual or weather conditions. Ultimately, this analysis demonstrates that it is essential to take road safety seriously and drive carefully, no matter where there are."

Robeson County came in at third overall in number of car crash fatalities per 10,000 people, while Columbus County came in sixth, with 21.14 per 10,000. Two counties from South Carolina also unfortunately landed in the Top 10, with Orangeburg County at second, and Laurens County at ninth.

Outside of the top 10, Pender County in North Carolina was 18th at 15.61, Sampson County was 33rd at 13.89, Granville County was 38th at 13.44, Lenoir County was 39th at 13.42 and Nash County came in at 50th with 13.06.

Let's take a look at the Top 10 counties in the United States that are the most dangerous for drivers.

Apache County in Northeast Arizona has only 66,024 people, but had 155 people killed in car crashes during the time period. That's 23.48 per 10,000.

The small county south of Columbia has 84,225 people, and saw 194 deaths in the four years. That's 23.03 per 10,000 people.

The county in our region with Lumberton in it has 116,516 people. And had more people killed in car crashes during the time period than anywhere else in the country, and had 22.57 per 10,000 people.

While a small county, with just 53,273 people, the Gila area is near the major Phoenix metro. There were 21.96 deaths per 10,000 people.

The county in central Florida has just 73,327 people, but is a major gateway between major cities. There were 21.14 deaths per 10,000 people.

Just down the road, the county with Whiteville in it is also a pass-through to the beach areas. So while it has a small population of just 50,625 there were 21.14 deaths per 10,000 people.

A small county in western New Mexico, it does happen to border the Arizona county that topped the list. There were 20.85 deaths per 10,000.

Another rural county in Arizona, but it does 106,716 people in it. The county saw 213 deaths, which was 19.96 per 10,000 people.

While not a big county, Laurens County is a passthrough between Greenville and Columbia and saw 18.95 car crash deaths per 10,000 people.

The county between Destin and Panama Beach sees a lot of visiting traffic, and that's probably why it had 17.53 deaths per 10,000 people.