Ooh boy. Why'd you open this can of worms yet again?

My answer is that there is no set demographic who are definitively The Worst. It varies with time and place.

People who lack awareness and consideration for other road users rate pretty highly in the "worst driver" stakes though.

Of the 5-10 accidents I have seen and been involved in, all have involved a person over 40 and in most cases over 50. Funny thing is in all cases they blamed the younger person with the police usually correcting them on the road rules or driving etiquette (sp?). As a cyclist (asians and old people are terrible in Christchurch, they drive in the cycle lanes and cut you off).

This could get nasty Ann!

As a pedestrian - agree with you on the bus drivers.

As a cyclist - I've only been riding a bike on the road for a month and its damn scary! So - anyone in a car! (I think this has more to do with me than them tho). I was riding last night in a quiet suburban st, and on the road shoulder and someone slammed their horn on at me! WTF?? Gave me a hell of a fright.

As another driver - I think the worst are middle-aged woman. They seem to have this great combo of ditzy and rude so you never know what they're gonna do. And then can't tell if they are being obnoxious or oblivious.

I would have to say the scariest drivers ( and generalising here - because I have seen it happen 3 times in the last week) has been asian woman drivers in large cars with one hand on the wheel and the other on a cell phone - weaving back and forward across two lanes.

People that don't look where they are going, oblivious in their own little world. If you are driving you need to pay attention or as if often the case; the consequences can be disasterous.

Oi Ann, I am one of those 30 something women with a SUV! And I am about the most considerate driver on the road. I let cars in on busy Auckland roads, I always slow down and give cyclists plenty of berth and I am one of the few Auckland drivers who sees an amber light as a signal to slow down and stop. I was even the bigger person the other day when a complete f*wit deliberately blocked my path when I attempted to enter a car park, thus requiring me to back out onto a busy street to let her out, rather than her backing up into the nearly empty car park she was trying to exit. To be fair I did call her a b**** under my breath as she passed - but did so with a smile on my face :-)

I think everyone group has the potential to be the worst driver on the road. People who drive fancy European cars get a bad rap, but I generally find the crappier the car, the more the hazard they pose. How's that for generalising?

All drivers who speed, fail to observe the road code and who are discourteous are the worst drivers regardless of sex or age. It's far too easy and cheap to get a drivers licence in NZ and too cheap to run a vehicle hence the higher number of idiots on the road who are 'bad drivers'. Actually after 2 years living in China I spent a few months driving again in Christchurch and what struck me at the time was how very courteous the drivers were during the few months I was driving. These days as a fulltime uni student I take the bus. Anyone who is close to a bus route and commutes in a car instead of taking a bus to work or uni is either stupid, lazy, or has more money than sense.....as far as Christchurch goes anyway.

Those who have learnt to drive on the Asian continent are generally not as confident and aware of hazards, and unfortunately the family and friends they teach to drive suffer in this regard too.

Thos who have learnt to drive in NZ, SA and OZ tend to be over confident and are not overlly cautious.

The NZ trained drivers do not have a good care for cyclists, and a gross majority of these culprits drive those V8 fords and holdens and all think they are race car drivers.

Men (from no specifc age group) full of their own self-importance, who drive big, flashy Holdens or Fords.

I also fear the SUV driving 30-something woman.

Don't even get me started on school bus drivers.

Prado drivers. Consistently attempt to kill me, whether I'm walking, cycling or driving. Even one of the managers in my department has attempted to run me down in the carpark at work (he still doesn't realise - it was my first week & he didn't recognise me in my cycling gear). There's something about the size of a Prado, most people who drive them have no concept of how big they are (especially if they're 30-something women).

Having said that, the only actual vehicular contact I've had was with a 20-something guy in a mid-80s Honda (knocked me off my bike) & a mid-40s guy in a 70s Ford ute (wrote of my wee Starlet).

General consensus in my flat is Chch drivers are awful. Run orange/red lights, no consideration for others & indicate after turning the wheel, if at all.