Like accents and tastes in food, there are some big differences in driving behavior from city to city, reveals a new survey.
Anyone who travels around the country is likely to discover that there are some very distinct differences from one city to the next. And that means more than just regional accents and tastes in food.
Conventional wisdom would suggest that Boston has some of the most aggressive drivers in the country, while road rage is often thought of as a distinctly Southern California phenomenon.
The folks from TomTom, the portable navigation system manufacturer, decided to see if these were just myths, or if there really are differences in driving behavior and attitudes from city to city. And, it turns out, there really are some significant ones.
Think Boston drivers can be rude? Well, maybe they are. Nationwide, less than one in five American drivers will sound the horn when someone cuts them off. In Boston, it’s close to one in three. But motorists in Atlanta are more likely to curse or make a crude gesture; 14.4%, in fact, compared with a national average of just 10.7%.
Atlantans also are the most likely to take aggressive action when they’re being tailgated, 26.4% slamming their brakes or slowing down, compared to a national average of 21.6%.
Chicago drivers, on the other hand, will simply get out of the way. A full 77.1% say they’ll change lanes to avoid a tailgater. Motorists in the Windy City list flat tires as one of their biggest driving frustrations – the only city where that makes the list. Bostonians, by contrast, consider “getting lost” one of their pet peeves.
The top frustration for New Yorkers? Traffic, no surprise, followed by slow drivers and road rage. A pretty inseparable trio in the Big Apple, so fuhgedaboutit. Considering that City residents are likely to walk, bike, or take mass transit to work, it seems totally logical that more New Yorkers use their cars for leisure than in any other American city – about twice the national average, it turns out.
Across the country, 58.1% of survey respondents said they commute 45 minutes to an hour each day, but 36.4% said they wouldn’t consider commuting more than 20 minutes.
Drivers in traffic-snarled Los Angeles are, not surprisingly, the most likely to change their route in a hurry if they spot a traffic jam or hear about a tie-up on the radio, 78.3%, it turns out, will make a quick detour.
Maybe it’s because they spend so much time in traffic – or trying to find an alternate route, but Los Angelinos are also the most likely to sing and dance in their car while driving, something 37.4% admitted to TomTom researchers. In the City of Angels, folks tend to describe destinations by time, rather than distance, so it’s also no shock that 79% of motorists there will leave early for an appointment, just to play it safe.
Surprisingly, the same number of Houstonians will also leave early, reflecting the steady growth of traffic in the big Texas town. The oil town’s motorists are most likely to use their GPS to help them locate a gas station – or to find a familiar destination.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Minneapolis motorists are the most law-abiding, at least when it comes to speed limits, which 20% said they strictly obey – compared to 13.1% nationwide. Across the country, 61.3% of Americans say they regularly drive five to 10 mph over the limit. In Atlanta, it’s 66.2%.
The TomTom drivers’ survey revealed some odd and occasionally embarrassing behaviors, one Boston woman reporting being caught by a truck driver removing her bra – while driving – while another ran out of gas on a rainy morning and had to hike to get help while wearing her cartoon cat PJs. Across the country, 2% of all Americans admit to picking their noses while driving, but the number jumps to 3% when you survey Atlantans.
TomTom researchers concluded by lumping drivers in seven cities surveyed into three distinct groups:
* Diligent Drivers, who are extremely conscientious and stick to the rules of the road; Houston and Los Angeles;
* Neutral Drivers, a milder breed who a steady, middle-of-the-road approach to driving and typically go with the flow; Chicago and New York; and
* Courageous Drivers, who do what it takes to overcome the obstacles and complexities of daily driving; Atlant, Boston and Minneapolis.