Are you in an angry city?

Yep! there are angry cities out there and we have the proof. The Affinion group has conducted it's annual study of road rage and the angriest and least angry cities have been determined. The study was completed between January and March of 2009 in 25 major metro areas. Road rage is dangerous and can be fatal if taken to extremes. Wikipedia describes road rage as: Behavior by a driver of an automobile or other motor vehicle which causes collisions, incidents, gestures, some times death on roadways. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving. It has even been deemed a mental disorder. There are about 1200 cases of road rage reported annually with 300 of them ending in serious injury or fatality. Only a few states, about 14, have enacted special "aggressive driving' laws and most are processed as assault and battery (with or with out a vehicle) or "vehicular manslaughter" in cases involving related deaths.
Only one state, California, has turned "road rage" into a legal term with specific meaning. Those road ragers stopped by police, may only be charged with a lesser offense, such as careless or wreckless driving.

So where does your city rank? The Affinion report gives us the top 5 angriest and least angry cities.

WORST ROAD RAGE US CITIES

1. New York
2. Dallas/Ft. Worth
3. Detroit
4. Atlanta
5. Minneapolis/St. Paul

LEAST ANGRY CITIES

1. Portland
2. Cleveland
3. Baltimore
4. Sacramento
5. Pittsburgh

Missing the list this year are Miami (last year #1) and Los Angeles with Atlanta moving from the least angry list to #4 on the angry list.

While rural areas are usually populated with calmer drivers and Metro areas with faster paced angrier drivers, the study itself does not factor in this element. It does however, look at driving habits and attitudes. Some contributing factors to angry, ragefull drivers, according to the study, are people in a hurry, traffic problems and selfish drivers. Some of the behaviors noted in the study, that lead to road rage were, drivers on cell phones (talking and texting), speeding, tailgating and eating or drinking while driving. How did people say they reacted to these habits? Well, 43% say they honked, others stated they cursed, waived arms or made an obscene gestures. (normal everyday reactions)

Bottom line, it exsist and is a growing issue on todays highways. Take all the steps necessary to avoid being a victim or agressor. Some helpful thoughts; Plan ahead, get plenty of rest, keep your car in good order, take a relaxation period before getting behind the wheel and develop coping strategies. When you become aware of the factors of road rage, you can usually get through the day without incident.

Thanks for reading and please "chillax" before you ruin a good day!