I found this on MSN.

Are you a dangerous driver? 10 ways to tell

Bad habits range from road rage to eating while driving. Compare yourself with these accident magnets from Boston. Do you see yourself here?

Compare yourself with a focus group of 30 drivers from Boston who have collectively been involved in 84 accidents over the past three years and received 49 speeding tickets, 39 moving violations and 92 parking tickets. Take a look at these questions to find out if you fit the profile.
When you reach a stop sign and no one is coming from another direction, do you roll through instead of stopping? An overwhelming majority (87%) of the bad drivers say they should be able to speed, go through stop signs, and break other driving rules and regulations as long as no one gets hurt.

Do you talk on the cell phone while driving instead of pulling off and stopping to talk? A total of 77% of bad drivers say they do this either frequently or occasionally. Only 13% say they never talk on a cell phone while driving.

Do you take your coffee and muffin or other food and drink on the road with you, driving with one hand while using the other to eat? Some 60% of those in the study say they either frequently or occasionally eat while they're driving. In fact, several of the participants say they have spilled drinks and attempted to clean up the spill while driving.

If you're out shopping in a crowded area and are looking for a parking space, do you become so focused on your search that you lose sight of the cars and pedestrians around you? More than half of the participants say that when they're trying to find a parking space in a crowded area, they can become so focused that they become oblivious to other drivers and pedestrians and often get into accidents, whether on the street or in a parking lot.

Do you hate driving behind SUVs or other large vehicles that obstruct your view? More than 60% of bad drivers say they are frustrated driving behind SUVs because they are wide and tall and block their vision. In fact, more than 70% believe SUVs should be required to drive in a separate lane on the highway.

Does your driving change when you go into areas with higher police presence? Nearly all of the participants strongly agree with the statement that they drive more carefully when they know police are in the area. In addition, most participants say they check their rearview mirrors regularly for police cars.

Does listening to music while you drive sometimes leave you oblivious to all but the music? Some 93% of participants say they listen to the radio while driving, and 73% of them listen to music. Most say listening to the radio has often caused them to become distracted and in some cases they say listening to loud music has caused them to be more aggressive on the highway.

Do you find yourself in confrontations on the road, either through verbal arguments or hand gestures, because of either your own driving habits or the habits of others? While 87% of the bad drivers consider themselves at least somewhat courteous drivers if not very courteous, at least half also admit making obscene or rude gestures or comments to other drivers, particularly those who cut in front of them on the highway. Participants also say, however, that they appreciate a thank-you gesture for letting another driver into their lane, and often give a wave of thanks themselves when they cut into traffic.

Does your "work hard, play hard" lifestyle leave you sleepy behind the wheel at times? About 50% of those in the study say they have almost fallen asleep while driving and an additional 10% say they have wanted to shut their eyes while driving and almost did. The study found that most participants lead a busy lifestyle that sometimes leaves them sleep-deprived.

When you're driving with passengers, do you turn around to talk, taking your eyes and mind off the road? Nearly all group members acknowledged that they are distracted when they have passengers in their vehicles, and most say during conversations they'll turn their heads and stop paying attention to the road. This held true especially for drivers with small children.

If your answers agree with the answers from the focus group, it's likely you tend to be a more aggressive driver than average. Like members of the study, you may also pay more for your auto insurance. Within the study group, 53% pay a surcharge on their auto insurance because of their driving records

 

Hey Daniel1,

Next time please make your post shorter.

Do you know how hard it is to read something that long while your laptop is sitting on the pass. seat connected to the internet thru a wireless air card and trying to shift thru the gears all at the same time?

 

>>In fact, more than 70% believe SUVs should be required to drive in a separate lane on the highway.<<

I was somewhat with this article until this statement. I mean, that's just silly. I don't buy it. Who are these 84 people?

 

Well I was doing pretty good.....but I do on occasion hate driving behind SUVs. Not always...because there thousands of them around here, and some are worse offenders than others. But if I need to see around these beasts and can't.....I move!

Also didn't do well on the "slowing down due to higher police presence" question either. There are two small towns attached to my city, and their law enforcement departments are notorious for nailing people. Frankly, everyone around here is careful. All you have to do is drive around on a Saturday night and watch people get pulled over one after the other.

 

>>>>In fact, more than 70% believe SUVs should be required to drive in a separate lane on the highway.<<
>>
>> I was somewhat with this article until this statement. I mean, that's just silly. I don't buy it. Who are these 84 people?

I have a bit of an issue with that as well. I'll look through a vehicle, assuming the glass isn't so tinted as to prevent it. Cargo Vans and Semis I don't like, but I'll never go so far as to make a separate lane.


Overall, I did pretty good on the test. Even when I'm on call, work doesn't expect me to answer the phone when driving. It's why they invented voice mail. I do drive slower in the presence of police, but many times it's a reaction to the others. I just stick with traffic. I do know how to turn my stereo down or off as needed and I stand by my Motown theory. There would be less road rage if Motown was the only kind of music you could hear during rush hour.

 

It's kind of hard to pass SUV's, reply to this post, and mix my martini all at the same time, but I'm a really good driver.

Did I just hit something?

 

>>Did I just hit something?
>>
>>


Looks like that trucker's got one Whale of a problem.

 

I don't really being behind SUVs... around here they speed a lot, so they get the tickets, heh. But, a lot of SUV owners around me have the "I'm bigger than you" mentality thats scary. Why is a 90 lb lady driving alone in an Excursion? But I digress...

I don't like being behind trucks and semis on normal roads though, as when you go through a stoplight, you can't see it until the very end, making it easy to run it.