Majority believe white van drivers agressive

Leering drivers, bad driving, dirty vans and mass consumers of jumbo breakfast rolls; the “White Van Man” stereotype seems to be still alive and well in Ireland today. This is according to the results of an AA online poll which quizzed a sample of 9,500 motorists to see what they thought of the typical van driver.

Despite the generalisation, 57% of those polled were happy to label our nation’s van driving community as aggressive. 40% also deemed them to be reckless. While not mentioned in the question itself, taxi drivers also received a lot of flak from many poll respondents who chose to leave individual comments the AA reports.

Not all were so critical of van drivers however, a quarter of poll participants said they feel that they are by and large a very conscientious group of motorists.

The AA further shares that it posed the question following a suggestion from one of their van insurance customers, himself an electrician, who felt that van drivers too often get a raw deal from their fellow road users.

“There are all sorts of stereotypes about drivers. We all know them – women can’t parallel park to save their lives and young males are irresponsible speed merchants. At the end of the day such pigeon holing when it comes to motorists is unfair and simply untrue. As with any driving community a few bad apples don’t make for a rotten barrel,' says Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA Ireland.

Addressing another of the assumptions attached to the “White Van Man” the AA shares that they also quizzed 35 of their van insurance customers on how often they wash their vehicles. 21 of this group said their van gets a good wash at least once a month while just 2 said they leave the task exclusively up to the rain.

“While it’s true many of the van drivers on our roads may be in a hurry when they’re working, the bottom line is that they’re fundamental to our economy and our society.” Says Faughnan. “They’re the people who transport our fresh fruit to our local supermarket, the ones who come out and fix the washing machine or come out in the middle of the night to tackle a plumbing emergency. In almost every van you see there’s a person trying to earn an honest living. Perhaps it’s time to retire the twenty year old stereotype and lay off this group of men and women. While you might come across the odd incarnation I suspect they’re exception rather than the rule.”