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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.
 
That translates into 45 million aggressive drivers and represents
a bigger problem than ``road rage,'' a better known but different
pattern of driving behavior. In road rage incidents, drivers
attempt to harm others with their vehicles. Aggressive drivers,
by AAA's definition, drive without regard for others' safety.
 
"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."
 
The survey was based on telephone interviews in April with 942
licensed drivers across the country. It had a margin of error of
plus or minus 3 percentage points.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
AAA is now working on a video to help drivers manage anger.

efaubion@oklahoma.net
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/6123/