Blood boiling

April 19, 2010, 7:22 PM GMT+0

Of all the habits that really drive Brits up the wall, it seems bad manners really get our blood boiling, a survey for the Stroke Association suggests.

When given a choice of nine options and asked to pick all that made their blood boil the most each day, 79% of British adults chose bad manners and rudeness as their number one irritant, beating bad driving at 61% and the ubiquitous ‘reality’ show at 32%.

It is therefore of no surprise that the British public list queue jumping (66%) as the second most aggravating action or habit. It is often joked that queuing is a quintessentially British phenomenon; it would be interesting to see whether other countries and nationalities feel as passionately about queue jumpers as we do!

And reality shows, the other serious irritant, annoy older people significantly more than the younger generation. 44% of over 55s show distaste for such shows, while only 27% of 18-24s state that this kind of show format annoys them – perhaps because the shows are a relatively recent phenomenon and are usually more likely to feature individuals in their twenties than any other age group.

But when annoyed by your personal pet peeve, it may help to turn your thoughts to the small but serene six percent who say ‘no habits in other people make my blood boil’. How remarkably relaxed...

For survey details and full results, please click here