A person in a car's rearview mirror, looking at the camera.

The traffic situations that give us nightmares

19 oktober, 2023

There is consensus among Swedish motorists about which traffic situations create the greatest sense of uncertainty and discomfort.

Backing up with a trailer is the most sweaty

"Can you back up with a trailer!?" That's a question that the artist duo Hooja and DJ Mårdhund usually shout to the audience before their performances. And there's good reason for that. Backing up with a trailer is an absolute nightmare for many. A full one in three (36%) consider it the most challenging part of driving.

“It will hardly come as a surprise that reversing with a trailer tops the list of what we find most difficult,” says our sales manager Daniel Odsberg. Unfortunately, I think the mere thought of having to reverse discourages many from using a trailer at all. But who knows, maybe it will look different if we conduct the same survey again in a few years. With Hooja, it has almost become a folk sport.

More women (41%) than men (32%) find reversing with a trailer the most difficult. But there are also differences around the country, with residents of larger cities finding this more difficult: 39 percent in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö compared to 34 percent in other parts of the country. Gothenburg residents find it the most difficult to reverse with a trailer (45%), while residents of Central Norrland, in the counties of Jämtland and Västerbotten, have a significantly more relaxed attitude towards the whole thing (25%).

Driving in the dark is a challenge – for the elderly

In second place is driving at night (20%), closely followed by parking in a parking lot (15%). In addition to the fact that men also have greater self-confidence in these situations, it is mainly the differences between age groups that stand out. Few 18-34 year olds find it particularly challenging to drive in the dark (9%), but even more 56-79 year olds (32%). However, the situation is the opposite when it comes to parking in a parking lot. Only 7 percent of those aged 56-79 believe that this is the most difficult part of driving, compared to a full 25 percent of those aged 18-34.

– Driving in the dark is something that generally becomes more challenging with age, as both visual acuity and reaction ability deteriorate as we age. On the other hand, age often means more experience, which can make older drivers safer in other traffic situations, especially those that require more technical skill. We see this in the results for parking in tight spaces, but also starting on hills and handling slippery roads, says Odsberg.

Driving in winter conditions (8%) is ranked as the fourth most demanding situation, while driving in the rain (6%) comes in fifth place. Starting on a hill (1%) and overtaking (1%) are at the bottom of the list.

Question: What do you find most difficult when it comes to driving?

	Totalt	Män	Kvinnor	18-34	35-55	56-79
Köra i vinterväglag	8 %	7 %	9 %	10 %	7 %	8 %
Köra i mörker	20 %	20 %	20 %	9 %	17 %	32 %
Köra i regn	6 %	8 %	3 %	3 %	7 %	7 %
Backa med släp/husvagn	36 %	32 %	41 %	35 %	41 %	32 %
Fickparkera	15 %	12 %	18 %	25 %	14 %	7 %
Starta i backe	1 %	1 %	2 %	4 %	1 %	0 %
Köra om	1 %	0%	1 %	1 %	0 %	0 %
Annat	4 %	0 %	0 %	0 %	0 %	0 %
Vet ej	9 %	1 %	5 %	7 %	9 %	11 %
Bas	1 320	690	630	379	496	445

About the survey
The survey was conducted in Kantar Sifo's web panel during the period 12–16 January 2023. A total of 1320 people aged 18-79 who use a car were interviewed. The web panel is nationally representative and recruited based on random selection. There is no self-recruitment in Sifo's web panel.