Car and Truck News

NORWALK, Conn. — The second annual In The Driver’s Seat Road Rage Survey, commissioned by AutoVantage, a leading national auto club, found that the least courteous city in the country is Miami, followed by New York and Boston. It’s the second consecutive year that Miami claimed the top spot. The other two cities with the worst road rage were Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

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The most courteous city is Portland, Ore., followed closely by Pittsburgh, Seattle/Tacoma, St. Louis and Dallas/Ft. Worth.

The In The Driver’s Seat 2007 AutoVantage Road Rage Survey, released today, was conducted to determine the driving habits and attitudes of commuters across the U.S. and to learn more about consumer views on the topic of road rage.

“Road rage has unfortunately too often become a way of life, both on and off the track,” said NASCAR racing TV personality, radio host, best-selling author and AutoVantage spokesperson Liz Allison. “More and more, in cities across America, people are acting out their frustrations with dangerous results. It’s bad for professional and everyday drivers alike.

“Our Road Rage survey shines the light on emerging driving trends, and there are some very interesting results.”

The survey’s best and worst cities are:

Least Courteous Cities (Worst Road Rage):
2007 2006

1. Miami 1. Miami
2. New York 2. Phoenix
3. Boston 3. New York
4. Los Angeles 4. Los Angeles
5. Washington, D.C 5. Boston

Most Courteous Cities (Least Road Rage):
2007 2006

1. Portland, Ore. 1. Minneapolis
2. Pittsburgh 2. Nashville
3. Seattle/Tacoma 3. St. Louis
4. St. Louis 4. Seattle
5. Dallas/Ft. Worth 5. Atlanta

Other cities surveyed include Phoenix; Chicago; Sacramento, Calif.; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Houston; Atlanta; Detroit; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Baltimore; Tampa, Fla.; San Diego; Cincinnati; Cleveland and Denver.

“This new study focuses on important attitudes and habits of drivers on the open road nationwide,” said Mike Wain, vice president of AutoVantage. “This groundbreaking research is an important tool to help educate and influence safer driving habits throughout the United States.”

Want to know how you rate? Check your road rage temperature by taking our online survey at www.gaugemyrage.com.

This year’s survey sought to define road rage in America. Two important attributes emerged in defining road rage behavior:

– Angry or upset drivers, including out-of-control drivers and drivers
who lose their temper.

– Bad or aggressive driving, including bad/careless/crazy and/or rude
driving, cutting into lanes, cutting people off, tailgating, speeding
and/or honking.

When asked the major causes of road rage in the survey, the most frequent theme was people being in a hurry, running late, being impatient and/or speeding.

– “Bad/rude/careless driving, such as cutting others off, talking on the
cell phone, speeding or going too slow in the fast lane”

– “People who are angry, stressed or frustrated”

– “People being in a hurry, impatient or running late”

Behaviors by other drivers that cause stress for commuters, and which can lead to road rage, include:

– Driving too fast (66 percent observe this happening every day)

– Tailgating (57 percent see this every day)

– Cutting over without notice (45 percent see this every day)

Commuters also reported that other drivers frequently:

– Talk on their cell phones (98 percent observe this at least once a
week)

– Do other tasks while driving (63 percent observe this at least once a
week)

– Run red lights (63 percent observe this at least once a week)

– Slam on the brakes (63 percent see this happening at least once a week)

As a reaction to rude or bad driving by others, people surveyed admitted that they:

– Honk their horn at the offending driver (35 percent)

– Curse at the other driver (29 percent)

– Wave their fist or arms (10 percent)

– Make an obscene gesture (8 percent)

– Call the police to report the driver (6 percent)

– Slam into the car in front of them (1 percent)

Drivers weighed in on how to reduce rude driving and road rage:

– Increase police presence (62 percent thought this would help)

– Limit cell phone usage (55 percent)

– Make it illegal to use cell phones while driving (53 percent)

– Use automatic cameras to catch bad drivers (51 percent)

– Conduct a major public awareness campaign (32 percent)

Other key findings of the study:

– Younger drivers and those who have the longest commutes are most likely
to react to an aggressive or rude driver.

– There is no real difference between men and women when it comes to road
rage.

– Besides talking on the cell phone while driving (61 percent admit to
this), the one thing that drivers in this survey were most likely to
have done is drive too fast (59 percent). Most drivers admit to doing
these at least some of the time.

– Cutting over without notice. Drivers in New York are the most likely to
witness this daily (63 percent), up from 45 percent in 2006. Drivers in
Cleveland are least likely to see this (25 percent), down from 45
percent in 2006.

– Tailgating. Drivers in Phoenix are most likely to see this behavior
daily (69 percent), up from 51 percent in 2006. Drivers in Portland are
the least like to see tailgating (41 percent).

– Slamming on the brakes. Drivers in Miami (39 percent) are most likely
to witness this behavior daily, up from 23 percent, while drivers in
Cleveland and Cincinnati are least likely (14 percent).

– Running red lights. More than one-fourth (27 percent) said they see
drivers every day who run red lights. Drivers in Miami are the most
likely to witness this behavior (58 percent), up significantly from 40
percent, and drivers in Cleveland are least likely (14 percent), up
slightly from 11 percent in 2006.

– Driving too fast. Nearly two-thirds say they see drivers driving a lot
faster than is safe for road conditions, up significantly from 57
percent last year. Drivers in Sacramento are more likely to see drivers
driving too fast (81 percent) than those in Minneapolis/St. Paul (55
percent).

– Talking on cell phone. Ninety percent say they see drivers talking on
their cell phone every day, up from 83 percent in 2006. A full 96
percent of San Francisco drivers said they see this behavior daily,
while drivers in Denver are less likely (82 percent).

Overall, more than one third, or 35 percent, said they see drivers doing other things like putting on makeup, shaving or reading while driving. Miami (54 percent) emerged as the city where this is most likely to be seen, while Seattle (19 percent) emerged as the place where this behavior is least likely to happen.