| 4WD Drivers Obese, Aggressive: Study |
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By Neville D'Cruz
MELBOURNE, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Four-wheel-drive vehicle owners are often obese, aggressive, intolerant and aged in their 40s or 50s, a study here has found.
It also found 4WD owners are less community minded than other drivers, less charitable, more likely to be homophobic and have a low opinion of indigenous culture.
The Australia Institute study has also found they are more likely to use force to get their way.
Based on a Roy Morgan Research survey in 2003-04 of 24,718 people aged 14 and over, the study found the typical city driver of a large 4WD is a male in his 40s or 50s in full-time work with a higher than average income.
The 4WDS are also far more likely than conventional vehicles to kill or maim other road users, they are less fuel efficient and they are resented by other road users.
Two thirds of their drivers are overweight or obese.
"These drivers tend to see themselves as rugged individualists," the report's authors, Clive Hamilton and Claire Barbato, said.
"Perhaps with implications for how they drive, they are more inclined to say they sometimes use force to get their way," the authors said.
The authors also say 4WDs are marketed as bold, tough, powerful and made for rugged terrain, while the daily reality is that most are driven between school, work and shops in metropolitan areas.
However, drivers of luxury 4WDs are very different. They are more likely to be female, in their 30s and 40s, and are more materialistic than other citizens.
"This group is more than twice as likely as the general population to say, `I was born to shop' (33 per cent)," the authors said.
"And two thirds (65 per cent) say they would normally buy their favourite brand regardless of price, compared with 43 per cent of the population." They also watch their weight, and are less likely to be obese than the general population.
Dr Hamilton said 4WD vehicles are also less fuel efficient and special licences and higher taxes should be imposed on 4WD owners.
-- BERNAMA
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