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How to avoid road rage problem in big cities? by daisy torson
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How to avoid road rage problem in big cities? |
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Automotive
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Road rage is nothing new to anyone who's spent time behind the wheel of a car, but is it as common as we're led to believe? A recent survey by The Group found that despicable road manners are still all the rage, but where those driving habits translate into violent driving behavior is a debatable topic. In survey, drivers rated New York as the nation's least courteous, angriest, and most aggressive. New York overtook Miami, the city with the ignominious distinction of holding the top spot for the last four years. "We wanted to identify behaviors that that could lead to a serious incident of road rage," said, director of public relations for BMW and Mercedes servicing. "We think that it's good information that might help drivers avoid a situation that could become life threatening." This goal helps explain why the survey points to perfectly legal behaviors, such as drinking a cup of coffee while driving, with ticket able offences such as running a red light or tailgating. For the purposes of the survey, legal and illegal activities were considered equally dangerous. "The common thread that we found is this: In the cities with the worst rankings, drivers simply weren't paying attention to their driving, and this caused problems," said Bush. The survey showed that 43 percent of people reacted to bad driving by honking their horn. But, 36 percent resorted to cursing, 13 percent waved their fists or arms, and 10 percent made an obscene gesture. Seven percent were so angry they called the police. One percent admitted they had slammed into the car in front of them. Other criminal charges might result from an incident such as this, so an increase in insurance premiums might be the least of a road rager's problems. Civil and criminal penalties for behavior that includes road rage differ from state to state, but depending on the severity of the charges, could lead to significant fines and time behind bars. And remember, good lawyers don't come cheaply. When asked to recount the worst episode of road rage, First Lieutenant Thad Peterson, a veteran of the Michigan State Police said, "I can't recall a specific incident. As a matter of fact, in terms of the worst kind of road rage -- one that results in a homicide -- I can't even recall one ever happening in Michigan." Peterson agreed with the premise that the media's sensationalistic reporting on road rage is totally disproportionate to the reality. "Road rage makes for great headlines, and upon occasion results in terrible, catastrophic events," said Peterson. "But when we go looking for data about the frequency of road rage, there isn't much to support or encourage widespread panic." Peterson is the chairman of a Michigan State Police committee on driver behavior, so he studies the issue closely. Peterson finds a sharp contrast between his experience and the recent survey. "We find that aggressive driving is not normally the result of distracted drivers," said Peterson. "It is usually the result of some environmental or engineering issue related to the physical roads where aggressive driving occurs." Peterson stated and presented data to support that major contributors to aggressive driving include: speed limits that are too low for the road, traffic congestion, poorly timed traffic lights, and stop signs placed to lower speeds. This act as investigators to drivers speeding, changing lanes, and tailgating; all characteristics of "aggressive" driving. Peterson explained that changes made to roadways where aggressive driving occurs reduce incidents of aggressive driving. As proof, Peterson pointed to changes made on a section of I-496 outside of Lansing, Michigan. At one point, this road accounted for 40-percent of reported incidents of aggressive driving within a particular county. When the speed limit was raised from 55 mph to 70 mph, incidents of aggressive driving dropped to zero. "The low speed limit frustrated many drivers, so they drove over the speed limit," said Peterson. "This caused problems for other drivers who were driving at the speed limit. The speed differential caused the tailgating, passing, and speeding that was reported as 'aggressive' driving." Data proved that accident rates also fell when the speed limit was raised on that section of highway. Surprisingly, the faster limit increased traffic volume, nearly eliminating all symptoms of rush hour traffic. So, according to the Michigan State Police, different factors cause aggressive driving, and the scariest results of road rage are very rare. Road rage is not an epidemic, but that doesn't mean we all haven't witnessed some "heated" driving on the part of our fellow drivers. Everybody take a deep breath, even if you live in New York. You can find brown motors at Tunnel Avenue, Greenwich, London SE10 0SL or visit website BMW and Mercedes servicing for more information.
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