Every time there’s a study / survey / analysis of the worst American drivers / worst places to drive / worst road rage Boston is at or near the top. Another story is in the national media today.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13320203/detail.html

One of the unfortunate things about these stories is that we Bostonians take pride in these badges of dishonor. We think of it as a joke, or a right of passage.

It’s not. It’s sad and dangerous and costly.

The fact is (and it is a fact) that we drive badly. This means that we have more accidents, are more likely to get hurt, experience higher levels of stress and anger, have higher insurance costs and end up sitting in more traffic than we need to.

If we were better drivers we would save money, sit in less traffic, have less stress and get to our destinations faster. Seems smart, doesn’t it?

I heard people talking about this story this morning we saying that we need to relax and “take a deep breath” when driving. And that may be true, but it takes much more than just that. We need to drive better, and that means paying better attention, making better decisions, planning our route better, as well as being more courteous.

Thebostonchannel.com has a discussion about why we are so rude.

http://forums.ibsys.com/viewmessages.cfm?sitekey=bos&Forum=6&Topic=15887