A list of the ten worst people drivers would hate to have as car passengers.

Ten people who would be least welcomed in a car when on a driving adventure have been named following a poll of 2,000 people.

The poll stated that drivers looked for passengers who had a good sense of humour as well as the ability to navigate and offer survival tips if trapped or stranded on an adventure trip.

It appears that the criteria for worst person to be trapped with is not solely made up of their humour, directional sense or survival instinct but the pain they appear to have inflicted on the public.

In tenth place is Formula One Grand Prix racing driver Lewis Hamilton, who races for the Vodafone McClaren Mercedes team and was crowned World Champion in 2008. The Stevenage-born driver has polarised opinion with his detractors saying that he drives dangerously, whilst his defenders claim that he takes risks which is the aim of Formula One racers.

Whilst his driving ability has never been in doubt, Hamilton has suffered from a self-assuredness that some have perceived to be arrogance. Other issues which have not helped him include moving away from Britain to avoid tax and linking up with Santander as part of a marketing deal. Both of these occurred as Britain was in the midst of a financial crisis.

In ninth place is Simon Cowell – a media entrepreneur who has found fame as the brains and occasional judge of several ITV light entertainment shows as well as associated with bands such as Westlife, a group so bland that it is doubtful anyone can actually remember who they were, what songs they sang and just what exactly happened to them.

With Cowell happy to be the centre of attention as the self-styled ‘Mr Nasty’ on judging panels, it is perhaps fair to say that he won’t be overly impressed with ninth, he’d want to be number one. What is overlooked by the detractors of Cowell is the host of charity work and special causes initiatives he promotes and works on, almost all of which is carried out away from the public’s gaze.

 

Hung up at number eight is Madonna, although one suspects this is a case of her alleged high maintenance rather than because of any career choices. That being said Evita excepted, her films have been criticised and her move into erotic literature wasn’t as successful as she hoped. The British press also have to take their share of the blame, having fawned over Madonna until the ending of her marriage to Guy Richie, leading to several newspapers suddenly taking a dim view of her.

However would being trapped in a car with Madonna be really so bad? Her family were involved in the motor industry in Michigan so she may have an idea of how to mend a broken car. Also when your car radio batteries run out there’s a back catalogue of hits spanning nearly 30 years she can sing. On second thoughts maybe that’s the reason why she’s at number eight.

At seven is a timely reminder for any would-be aspirants – be careful what you wish for. The MP for Sheffield Hallam, better known as Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was on the crest of a wave in spring 2010 just before the general election. Agreeing to form a coalition government with the Conservatives was in some eyes bad enough but what came next has in some political commentators’ views made the party almost unelectable.

Eschewing any sense of values he so vehemently promoted during the campaign, Clegg caved in over raising university tuition fees, has failed to stand his ground on a controversial health bill which could lead to the privatisation of the NHS and famously forget he was meant to be running the country when Prime Minister David Cameron was on holiday. He compounded his misery by upsetting Sheffield residents through reversing a Labour decision to give a loan to a steelworks foundry in the city. All of this was traded in for a vote on AV (which the Liberals badly lost).

Claiming sixth place is one Kenneth William Bates, the London businessman who is the official owner of Leeds United Football Club. During his seven years at the helm, he has taken Leeds to depths never thought possible, branded their long-sufferuing loyal fans ‘morons’ and sacked Simon Grayson, one of the best young managers in the game.

In earlier years, he advocated electric fences at football matches when in charge of Chelsea and had to withdraw from the British Virgin Islands in the 1960s after allegedly being guilty of naked colonialism. Happily for the BVI population, a man by the name of Noel Lloyd stood up to Bates and thwarted any plans he had on one of the islands. This did not stop Bates from exploring other avenues of potential revenue, which saw him take Oldham Athletic on a tour of Rhodesia in the 1960s to have their picture taken with Ian Smith.

Entering the top five is Carol Vorderman MBE, most famous as the long-time assistant to Richard Whiteley on Channel Four’s longest running show Countdown. She has since reinvented herself by taking on the role of the anchoring the Loose Women Show, which runs on ITV during the daytime.

Quite why Vorderman, whose estranged father was in the Dutch resistance, is in the top five of people that motorists don’t want to be in a car with is slightly puzzling. It may be the fear that if trapped in a jungle with Vorderman as a passenger, everything may link itself to a mathematical equation, thus boring the other person to death.

 

In fourth place is Kate Moss, a supermodel who seemed to have the world at her feet but tantalised and frustrated in equal measures. Famous for being the face of the so-called heroin chic fashion of the mid 1990s, Moss’ pale complexion and dark eye-liner image captivated thousands of young lads and gave a face for young ladies to aspire to at a time when girl power exploded onto the scene.

Moss may well have been selected fourth because of the baggage which is seemingly carried around by supermodels, as well as her lifestyle choices. The fact that she has been around on the catwalk for what seems an eternity may also not endear her to people who in the age of instant gratification are always looking for the next big thing.

 

Another model who people would hate to be trapped in a car with is Katie Price, formerly known by the non-de-plume of Jordan. The model, who has courted press attention when it has suited her is another that people believe would not be worth the bother of being trapped in a car on an adventure with.

Like Moss, Price appears to have been around for ever and is rarely out of the news. It could well be that the real reason that Katie Price would be so unpopular if car sharing on an adventure is the fear she would start to sing one of her songs which have been released for the public to digest.

 

Perhaps surprisingly (depending on your political persuasion), it is not David Cameron who tops the list. The coalition Prime Minister misses out on the top spot. Cameron’s problem is that he is an upper-class privileged individual who has not been short of help to elevate him to his present position.

The fact that the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Government that he is in charge of has made savage cuts is just one of the reasons why Cameron is unpopular. That he states ‘we are in it together’ when his cabinet of millionaires not only enforce these cuts but then also suggest a £60 million birthday present for one person lasting 60 years in a job and who pays very little into the treasury is another cause for concern. Possibly the only thing that can be agreed upon is that if Cameron was trapped in a car on an adventure at least he wouldn’t be running the country. That would be the job of Nick Clegg.

In first place is friend of Cameron’s from the Chipping-Norton brigade, one Jeremy Clarkson. Best known for his outspoken comments as host of Top Gear and his column in The Sun newspaper, Clarkson has a habit for causing controversy. From mocking former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s glass eye, through to insulting various nationalities around the world Clarkson has managed to upset almost everyone.

The real fear of being left in a broken vehicle on a long adventure trip with Clarkson is that he would constantly moan and whine, without doing any actual fixing of the vehicle. The other disadvantage is that it would leave you trapped in a car with the only man willing to provoke an argument with his own ego.