Distracted drivers are No. 1 reason for stress on Twin Cities roads

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: August 1, 2008 - 4:12 PM

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Motorists who eat, drink, talk on the phone or engage in text messaging are causing high amounts of stress for other drivers on Twin Cities roads.

In fact, drivers said that the behavior of motorists who multi-task while behind the wheel causes them more stress and anxiety than delays caused by poor road conditions or construction, according to results of the Twin Cities Driving Behavior Survey commissioned in June by the Minneapolis branch of the national motoring club AAA.

More than 66 percent of respondents ages 35 to 54 and 60 percent of motorists who are over 18 said they get more irritated and stressed by motorists who tailgate, change lanes abruptly or improperly, or drive too slowly or aggressively if the offending driver is engaging in behavior that takes their undivided attention away from driving.

Yet many who are stressed by the behavior of other drivers are just as guilty as those at whom they point the finger, the survey found.

More than 77 percent of Twin Cities drivers 18 to 34 say they eat while behind the wheel and 70 percent admit to talking on the telephone while driving. One in three drivers said they engaged in text messaging. Still others admitted to fixing their hair, drinking non-alcoholic beverages, reading a newspaper or magazine, or daydreaming while behind the wheel.

"We've all done it, especially when we are in rush hour traffic going 5 miles per hour," said Dawn Duffy, a spokeswoman for AAA. "We are all distracted drivers, but when we see somebody else do it, it gets us riled up."

The results of the Twin Cities Driving Behavior Survey mirror national driving trends. In 2007, more than 1 million drivers at any given daylight moment across the nation were using hand-held phones, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A recent insurance survey found that nationally 80 percent of drivers drank non-alcoholic beverages, 73 percent talked on cell phones, 68 percent ate snacks, 41 percent ate meals, 19 percent fixed their hair, 12 percent put on or adjusted their make-up, 5 percent read a magazine or newspaper, and 31 percent admitted to daydreaming while driving.

Those driving-distracting behaviors are factors in 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute said.

On a positive note, the survey revealed that 91 percent of Twin Cities drivers wear their seat belt, 10 percentage points higher than the national average.

The Twin Cities Driving Behavior Survey polled 1,000 licensed drivers between 18 and 54 who live in the seven-county metro area. The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

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