Bad driving now blamed on genes?

[The Annoyed Man]

Those who performed poorly mostly came from the northeast, and they lacked the RNCNASCAR gene, also known as the Red Neck Cracker NASCAR gene. They seemed to all lack the ability to trade paint in a sweeping left-hand banked turn at 189 mph. Other results of the study revealed in those lacking the RNCNASCAR gene a propensity to buy Prius automobiles and vote for Obama. Another shared propensity among those lacking the gene was the insatiable need to blow taxpayer dollars on really stupid studies.

Geneticists are still trying to put the stats together, and many are having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that many among their own colleagues appear to lack this crucial gene.

[MeMelYup]

Those who performed poorly mostly came from the northeast, and they lacked the RNCNASCAR gene, also known as the Red Neck Cracker NASCAR gene. They seemed to all lack the ability to trade paint in a sweeping left-hand banked turn at 189 mph. Other results of the study revealed in those lacking the RNCNASCAR gene a propensity to buy Prius automobiles and vote for Obama. Another shared propensity among those lacking the gene was the insatiable need to blow taxpayer dollars on really stupid studies.

Geneticists are still trying to put the stats together, and many are having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that many among their own colleagues appear to lack this crucial gene.

[jocat54]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/scienc ... index.html

Snippet: "In a study published recently in the journal Cerebral Cortex, researcher Steven Cramer found that people with a certain gene variant performed more than 30 percent worse on a driving test than people without it.

The study by Cramer, a neurology professor at the University of California Irvine, might also help explain why there are so many bad drivers on U.S. highways: About 30 percent of Americans have the variant."

My first two thoughts are 1) Here we go again blaming someone/thing else in an effort to absolve ourselves of personal responsibility and 2) I wonder how long it would take for genetic testing for this variation either before getting car insurance or a DL (resulting in higher cost and/or refusal to grant license) - or - after a wreck to punish the at-fault driver...or let them off the hook cuz their genes made them crash.

Sure can see this sort of thing causing trouble for folks with the condition...or maybe letting them off easier than those without.

EDITED to change "deficiency" to "variation" in number 2)

First thing I noticed was that Professor Cramer is from California.......explains a lot to me.

[jimlongley]

Those who performed poorly mostly came from the northeast, and they lacked the RNCNASCAR gene, also known as the Red Neck Cracker NASCAR gene. They seemed to all lack the ability to trade paint in a sweeping left-hand banked turn at 189 mph. Other results of the study revealed in those lacking the RNCNASCAR gene a propensity to buy Prius automobiles and vote for Obama. Another shared propensity among those lacking the gene was the insatiable need to blow taxpayer dollars on really stupid studies.

Geneticists are still trying to put the stats together, and many are having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that many among their own colleagues appear to lack this crucial gene.

Obviously they never tested anyone from around Chemung, Riverside, Malta, or the many other speedways and racetracks I went to as a kid.