Source: Atlanta drivers are the second-least courteous drivers in the United States. Such assessment based on a survey claiming statistics of “road rage” characteristics.
Although I don’t refute that Atlanta is a city that most certainly fits the bill of being full of discourteous drivers, and its share of bad and/or idiot drivers, I don’t necessarily agree with AutoVantage’s criteria of what is considered road rage. When I hear the term “road rage,” I’m picturing people demonstrating acts of retaliation when they’re cut off, or people getting so angry with one another that they mutually seem to agree to pull off to the side of the road, and get into an actual physical altercation. Some of the things that AutoVantage surveyed people on, well, aggravating or foolish as they may be, not all of them I’d agree are necessarily acts of road rage. Rage-inducing, sure, to some capacity, but definitely not contextually correct.
2nd most likely to see other drivers eating or drinking while behind the wheel
This is not an act of road rage. This can cause road rage, if the act of consumption is causing the driver to go below the speed limit, swerve aimlessly, or put others at risk, but it’s not like they’re eating out of anger. It is definitely discourteous to others, but it’s not an act of rage.
Most Likely to acknowledge tailgating someone else
Depends on the context. Lots of people in Atlanta tailgate, because they believe putting pressure on the car in front of them will make them vacate the lane so that they can get to where they want to go. Once they pass, the conflict is over, in those cases.
But if someone tailgates because they’re pissed that someone got in front of them, or they stalk another car and ride their bumper deliberately, then it’s kind of ragey. And it goes without saying that anything ragey is automatically discourteous.
Most likely to see another driver speeding
How is seeing another car speeding indicative to road rage? It’s no secret that lots of people in Atlanta drive like retards, at speeds that should easily get their licenses revoked and serve some possible jail time, but it still happens on a regular basis. I can cruise at 80 mph, and then get passed as if I were standing still two seconds later. But this doesn’t mean that someone is raging, it simply means that they are recklessly speeding.
Most likely to admit purposely bumping another driver in reaction to perceived poor driving
Okay, this is rage. Now I’ve only lived here for 11 years, but I’ve never once seen anyone deliberately hit another car. I haven’t even seen any real incidents of combative road rage, for that matter. The picture above was apparently out from California, where it was probably Los Angeles, the supposed worst traffic in the country. But here in Atlanta, I’ve never seen anyone get so ragey, that they voluntarily commit expensive monetary damages onto their own vehicle to create expensive monetary damages onto someone else’s vehicle that would undoubtedly be their own fault.
Regardless, the people who answered that they would admit to colliding with another vehicle are as full of shit as the rest of the answers they and everyone else privy to this supposed road rage survey are. No doubt 100% of these people would hit and run before they would confess to deliberately hitting someone else.
Atlanta is certainly a city full of discourteous drivers, clearly among the country’s worst, but it’s not necessarily all a result of road rage.
