Link to STPP Report
Tips & Links- Avoiding Road Rage
(3/8/99)
A new national study suggests Utahns are at greater risk than the average
American of being killed by an aggressive driver.
The national report released in Washington today has other disturbing news
about aggressive driving.
Charles Sherrill has details from our Washington bureau.
Aggressive driving is an increasingly common cause of fatal accidents and where
you live is a big factor in your odds of becoming a victim. That's according to
a new study of the problem.
Roy Kienitz, Executive Director of the Surface Transportation Policy Project,
says, "In the metro areas with the least transit usage, people were 61 percent
more likely to die in an aggressive driving crash than in the areas with the
most transit usage."
Seventy four percent of Utah commuters drive to work alone according to the
study. Less than three percent use mass transit.
Kienitz observed, "Utah had almost ten deaths per 100,000 people in 1996 from
aggressive driving. And that's higher than things like firearms or drug use.
It's a major problem."
The report ranks Utah 17th in the aggressive driving death rate.
- Provo-Orem is 86th among metropolitan areas of 100,000 or more.
- Ogden is 91st.
- Salt Lake City is 133rd.
Kienitz says, "It's the places where you have to get in your car to do
anything. Those are the places that have the highest death rates from
aggressive driving."
Good transit systems reduce road congestion and tend to attract the commuters
most apt to be outraged by heavy traffic, according to experts.
Just as 911 is now the nationwide number for emergencies, 211 or 511 may soon
be the universal number for traffic information.
Vice President Al Gore says, "It's gonna be a simple three digit number used
all over the United States."
The Clinton administration is also pushing a program that would give employers
a juicy new tax break to share with workers who use mass transit. That could
be significant incentive for some Salt Lake commuters to use light rail and
steer clear of aggressive drivers.
The report says the Riverside-San Bernadino area has the highest aggressive
driving death rate for large metropolitan areas.
Boston has the lowest.
