Road Rage Survey: Miami Drivers Not the Angriest -- But Most Apt to Read, Shave, or Put on Make-up While Driving
A recent national survey on road rage shows that New York City has replaced Miami, Florida as home to the nation's most aggressive and angriest drivers. (Miami had the dubious distinction of topping the list for four years.) But that doesn't mean the city is a haven for safe drivers: Miami was voted the place where people are most likely to read, shave, or apply makeup while driving.
As Miami accident lawyers know, the personal injury caused by distracted driving is no laughing matter.
NHTSA categorizes "distracted driving" with drowsy driving, and reports that "nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds before the event." NHTSA lists cell phone use and drowsiness as major causes of driver distraction. It is unknown how many Miami car accidents are caused by distracted driving behaviors such as those reported in the survey.
NHTSA reports that applying makeup and reading while driving increases drivers' chances of being involved in motor vehicle crashes by 3 times. Simply reaching for a moving object while driving increases the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times. (Source: NHTSA Press Release, "NHTSA, Virginia TechTransportation Institute Release Findings of Breakthrough Research on Real-World Driver Behavior, Distraction and Crash Factors," April 20, 2006).
The survey, commissioned by the Affinion Group, a marketing consulting firm, reports that Miami had dropped to number 7 among cities that experience the worst road rage. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) makes a distinction between "aggressive driving" and "road rage," stating that "aggressive driving is a traffic offense; road rage is a criminal offense." (Source: "Welcome to Stop Aggressive Driving," NHTSA.gov).
New York drivers named most aggressive, angry in U.S.
Reuters, Yahoo! News, June 16, 2009
Miami slips from worst drivers list
South Florida Business Journal, June 16, 2009
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