🚀 go-pugleaf

in@the.sig (E. Faubion) wrote:

>AAA: Americans acknowledge some aggressive driving
 
>By GLEN JOHNSON
>Associated Press

>WASHINGTON - One in four Americans owns up to driving
>aggressively, most commonly by speeding and because they are
>running late, according to a study released Tuesday by the
>American Automobile Association.

>"In some circumstances, people are afraid to drive certain places
>like the Capital Beltway because of this high-speeding driving,"
>said association spokesman Bill Jackman. "It's dangerous, and
>this becomes a threat to public safety."

Is there something wrong with this?   If there are people that are
afraid of the speeds on highways, then they should stay off them.  I
know people that were afraid of highways before 65 and before this
talk on aggressive driving became popular.  There will always be bad
drivers.

>Some 25 percent of those surveyed said they had driven
>aggressively in the past year, and 32 percent of those said they
>did so several times.

So only 8% did so several times, but 17% did so only once?  That makes
for much fewer habitual aggressive drivers than the one-in-four number
indicates.  What are the driving habits of the aggressive drivers?  Do
they drive more than average, making their numbers underrepresented,
or do they drive less?

>When asked how they were being aggressive, 58 percent of the
>respondents cited speeding, and 23 percent said they changed
>lanes excessively. About 11 percent said they tailgated another
>car, while a similar number said they ran a red light or stop
>sign.

So only one in four drivers fit into one of those catagories?  I think
that there are a lot of liars out there.

>Among the most common reasons for aggressive driving, according
>to the survey, were lateness, slow traffic in the high-speed lane
>and frustration at traffic congestion. Thirty-nine percent said
>they coped with traffic congestion by changing lanes excessively
>or running red lights and stop signs.

So there is a cause of aggressive driving that could be removed.  Why
do you think that people tend to focus on the resultant driving, like
aggressive driving, rather than reducing the causes, thus reducing the
number, usually in a more cost effective manner.
 
>Jackman said the survey was AAA's first attempt to understand the
>causes of aggressive driving. The association has more than 40
>million members in the United States and Canada, and aggressive
>driving is a frequent subject of discussion at club meetings, he
>said.

"Causes?"  Self reported "reasons" are not causes.  They didn't even
identify what agressive driving is.  I didn't think that AAA has that
many members in Canada, either.  Though the CAA may have some.  That
inaccurate statement is just indicative of the imprecise way that this
survey is presented by journalists.  It is too bad that the AAA won't
present the survey instrument and the raw results, as well as their 
 
>AAA is now working on a video to help drivers manage anger.

Great.  Now the national joke of a catch-phrase will no longer be
"just say no" it will be "just count to 10."

Marc
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