Road rage study says Minneapolis drivers among nicest

By BETH RUCKER

Last update: May 16, 2006 - 10:05 AM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Stressed Miami drivers speed, tailgate and cut off other drivers so frequently that it has earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday.

Norwalk, Conn.-based AutoVantage, an automobile membership club offering travel services and roadside assistance, also listed Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles and Boston among the top five cities for rude driving in its first "In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey."

"The advent of road rage is part of every day life," said Todd Smith, director of corporate communications for AutoVantage's parent company, Affinion Group, which has offices in Nashville. "It's just a fact of life."

On the other side of the spectrum, Minneapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, Seattle and Atlanta rated as the cities with the most courteous drivers who were less likely to change lanes without signaling or swear at other motorists.

"I've gone from Miami to Minneapolis before, and it was a huge difference," said Andrea Lindsley, a spokeswoman for AutoVantage.

More than 2,000 adult drivers who regularly commute in 20 major metropolitan areas were asked to rate road rage and rude driving in telephone surveys between January and March. The survey conducted by Prince Market Research has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Drivers surveyed said they believe the most common causes of road rage included being in a hurry to get to a destination or encountering other drivers who drive below the speed limit.

Young drivers and people with long commutes were found to be the most likely to react to an aggressive or rude driver. The top reactions included honking the horn, cursing or making an obscene gesture.

No distinct differences were found between male and female drivers.

Nearly all commuters said that at least once a week they witness drivers talking on their cell phones and most said they see it daily. About half as many see drivers running red lights and slamming on their brakes at least once a week.

Drivers owned up to some rude behavior themselves, with nearly all saying they have talked on a cell phone while driving and 64 percent acknowledged they drive too fast at least some of the time.

Elly Martin, a spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the administration has observed a lot of aggressive driving in studies of driver behavior on the roads. NHTSA distinguishes between aggressive driving, which it uses to refer to speeding, weaving in and out of traffic and other actions, from road rage, a term it uses for criminal driving behavior.

"Human behavior is so involved with crashes at all levels," she said. "(Aggressive driving) is a pattern of behavior drivers exhibit over and over."

AutoVantage hopes to use the survey to educate people about how to resist road rage. Among tips are remaining calm and not making eye contact with an angry driver.