When it comes to road rage, it seems that van drivers are fast becoming a bigger target of general loathing than even ticket happy traffic wardens. The crimes of this lone male (the red-faced and furious antihero of urban legend) who looms large in your rear view mirror are legion: tailgating, cutting up, barging in and generally driving like he owns the road only begins to cover it.
The term "White Van Man" was coined in 1997, by Radio 2 DJ Sarah Kennedy, and has since earned a place in the Collins Concise Dictionary. Buses - ha! - they don't get a look in, and your red-blooded WVM en route to his next job has no truck with those who dally at the lights. And if there's one thing than he hates more than taxis, it's a woman driving a taxi.
Question is, is this species of male as prevalent on British roads as we're led to believe? And are hard-working, courteous chaps who happen to drive white vans facing not only discrimination but a raging backlash of abuse on the road?
Unsurprisingly, the UK's 2.2 million business van drivers - a hard-working band of roofers, painters and decorators, service engineers, and couriers - are far from happy about being tainted by this unflattering stereotypical brush.
Half of those surveyed by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) - a team of social scientists who attempt to unravel fact from urban fiction said they were provoked, guv.
In all seriousness, it would seem that that it might be other male drivers - in cars - who see WVM as a challenge and deliberately cut in or make aggressive moves that are causing the trouble. Britain's van drivers say that because motorists believe that all WVM are out to get them, some male car drivers simply have to 'get in first'.
And WVM may have had the last word in a more decorous way than sticking two fingers up in the mirror. According to statistics compiled by the AA, drivers of unmarked white vans, favoured by small businesses who don't want the expense of plastering them in company logos, are an innocuous bunch. The AA reports that your average WVM has a four-year old van and has not made an insurance claim in the last four years.
Remember, MORE TH>N Business provides van insurance and business car insurance with businesses in mind, so if you need insurance for your business's vehicles, get in touch and let us keep you covered.