Los Angeles Times: Bad Driving Is Contagious

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000064158aug07.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia

BEHIND THE WHEEL
Bad Driving Is Contagious
A study indicates that parents can pass their aggressive road behavior on to
their children.
By HUGO MARTIN
TIMES STAFF WRITER

August 7 2001

Science says you can inherit your father's brown eyes, your mother's red hair or
your uncle's big feet. But is it possible to pick up your parents' penchant for
nasty, fist-waving freeway rants?

There is no proof yet of a gene for volatile driving, but a new study from the
California Institute of Transportation Safety suggests that adult drivers can
pass on their bad driving habits and even a tendency toward road rage.

Parents are more likely than driving instructors to teach their teenagers the
rules of the road. And the study found that Mom and Dad could be sending mixed
signals. Sure, they might give rational advice during parking lot training
sessions. But the kids are more likely to absorb cues from those long hours on
the road, when many parents routinely lose their cool. "Young drivers are at
risk of picking up bad habits of their parent/guardians that might adversely
affect their driving choices and attitudes," said the study from the institute
at San Diego State.

In short, some parents may be trying to teach their teenagers to "drive as I
say, not as I do."

Professor Sheila Sarkar, the study's lead investigator and an expert on
aggressive driving habits, said the conclusions are worrisome because teenagers
are already at high risk of dying in traffic accidents.

"Youngsters feel that if their parents get away with it, why shouldn't I?" she
said.

Teenagers make up 6.7% of the nation's driving population, but they are involved
in 14% of traffic fatalities. In fact, traffic accidents are the leading cause
of death among American teenagers.

The study urged parents to "reevaluate their driving styles, particularly when
children and teenagers are present."

To combat bad driving habits among teenagers, Sarkar developed a series of
driver training workshops called "The Cool Operator Program." Last year, the
first for the program, 250 teenagers attended the workshops in the San Diego
area.

In a survey of those teenagers, Sarkar's study found that nearly 60% felt their
parents could benefit from the workshop. An additional 7.5% said their parents
were beyond hope.

The teenagers said their fathers were more aggressive drivers than their
mothers. Many of the students dubbed their dads "road warriors," while moms were
more often described as being in a hurry or distracted.

The theory that driving habits are passed from generation to generation made
sense to some of the young people applying for licenses recently at the
Department of Motor Vehicles office in Hollywood.

Eli Burkhardt, 16, a New York resident who is spending the summer in Los
Angeles, said he believes his parents helped shape his careful style behind the
wheel.

"My parents are not too interesting when they drive," he said as he waited
outside the DMV office after applying for his license. "They are pretty good
drivers."

Burkhardt wondered if teenagers will use the study's findings--and their
parents' bad driving habits--as an excuse to drive like maniacs themselves.

"I don't think teenagers are good drivers anyway," he said.

Ben Weil, 18, said he thinks he has picked up the driving habits of both his
parents. He said his father is an aggressive driver. "He barely looks in the
mirror," Weil said. But he said his mother is overly cautious. Weil said he
falls somewhere in between.

But perhaps the best example of driving habits being passed between parent and
child is Lyniel Cueto, a 17-year-old from Los Angeles who describes his mother
and father as "very confident drivers."

Cueto said he, too, is a confident driver. So confident, in fact, that he was
not discouraged when he failed his driving test at the Hollywood DMV for the
fourth time.

"I'm going to take the test in Glendale," Cueto said after the DMV examiner gave
him the bad news. "They are not as strict there."

But there is some good news on the driving front, at least for Southern
Californians.

A survey by the mid-Atlantic chapter of the Automobile Club concluded that the
most aggressive drivers in the country are not found in Los Angeles. This is
despite the mayhem that seems to unfold on Southland freeways every day.

The nation's most aggressive drivers are in Boston, which received an F from
AAA.

AAA surveyed 1,000 drivers in eight major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles. In
Boston, 66% of those surveyed rated their city as an unsafe place to drive,
compared to 37% nationally.

More than half those surveyed in Boston said their fellow drivers were more rude
than drivers in other cities. Bostonians were more likely than their national
counterparts to flash their high beams (14% compared to 9%), make rude gestures
(13% to 9%), drive over the speed limit (70% to 55%), honk their horn (41% to
29%) or talk on a cellular phone while driving (46% to 39%).

In contrast, AAA gave Los Angeles drivers a C rating.

Most L.A. motorists consider using a cell phone while driving to be an act of
aggressive driving. But 45% admitted they had done so.

And Los Angeles motorists were more likely than drivers elsewhere to merge at
the last minute (19% compared to 11% nationwide). Maybe that's because they're
talking on their cells phones and not paying attention to their exit.

*

If you have questions or comments on driving in Southern California, send an
e-mail to [email protected]

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Are You an Aggressive Driver?

If you engage in the following activities regularly and you don't think your
behavior is a problem, you are an out-of-control driver.

* Blocking crosswalks at traffic signals.

* Speeding through intersections when the light turns yellow.

* Not yielding to pedestrians and bicyclists at crosswalks.

* Driving on the sidewalk.

* Speeding through areas where pedestrians and children may be present.

* Weaving or changing lanes rapidly, using merging lanes or the roadway shoulder
to avoid delays.

* Merging without observing the rules.

* Not yielding to drivers who have adequately indicated their intention to merge
or turn.

You may provoke violence from fellow drivers if you engage in the following
behavior:

* Excessive speeding along with other unsafe activities such as tailgating and
weaving through traffic.

* Excessive speeding in areas where construction work is going on, or where
children are present.

* Running red lights or stop signs, making illegal turns.

Source: California Institute for Transportation Safety
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Are you trying to become the west coast Hangfire?

LOL! [:D]

... A man is driving down a road.

A woman is driving down the same road from the opposite direction. As they pass each other, the woman leans out the window and yells, "PIG".

The man immediately leans out his window and yells, "BITCH!"

They each continue on their way, and as the man rounds a curve, he crashes into a huge pig in the middle of the road and dies.

If only men would listen.