Autoblog

California's Highway 138 was such a dangerous stretch of road that local authorities had taken to calling it "Blood Alley." To improve safety conditions and make the highway better overall for everyone traversing it, the government approved a $44 million road-widening project. Now, as you all know, these types of things are huge undertakings and driver inconvenience is one of the side effects.

Most people grit their teeth and suffer through the delays without making a big deal. Sure, they'll complain about them over their morning coffees at the office, but we all do that when road work interferes with our schedules. The state allowed the road to remain open during rush hour, but with restrictions. Escort vehicles led traffic through the work zone at a slow pace, one direction at a time. Naturally, that wasn't good enough for some commuters, and they took it out on the workers.

[Source: AP via Breitbart]

We used to think L.A. had the most incidents of road rage per mile in the country, but when visiting the city of Angels last November for the L.A. Auto Show were surprised that it wasn't as bad as we were expecting. That's probably because Miami, FL was rated as the city with the worst road rage in the country last year. Well, Florida's hottest destination for nightlife has again been named the city with the most road rage for the second year in a row. The road rage-rating survey that tracks these things was commissioned AutoVantage, a Connecticut-based auto club, and conducted by Prince Market Research.

The full list of worst road rage cities can be found after the jump, but the usual suspects are present and accounted for, including New York City, Boston, L.A. and Washington D.C. Only 25 major metropolitan cities were included in the survey, so while there was no check box for "Most Courteous", those at the bottom of the list should be considered the most stress free driving environments. Bringing up the back of the pack, and therefore the city with the least road rage, is Portland, Ore. Not surprising, since Portland has taken very progressive measures to reduce the amount of auto traffic in its city center.

Thanks for the tip, emulous1974!

[Source: Yahoo! News]

Road rage hits the shopping mall. Augusta police have one Stephen Scott Lowe in custody following a pursuit through the Augusta Mall in Georgia. Apparently Lowe drove his SUV through some locked doors at one end of the mall, and in his best Blues Brothers impression had police pursuing him as he drove along the second floor. After breaking through another set of doors leading into the food court area, he was boxed in by officers and had a brief altercation with them before being subdued with pepper spray and a well-placed baton. The 47-year old suspect was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property in the first degree, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence. Under the influence of what remains to be seen. No word yet on why he hated the mall so much or what the voices in his head had told him to buy at that late hour. Perhaps someone in the food court had cut him off or stole his parking space.

[Source: Augusta Chronicle]

Because they're such stellar role models with cutting, well-educated insight on all matters, we should follow the lead of our favorite television and movie characters when on the road. We've been so impressed by the well-informed and thoroughly considered stances that many movie and television stars have taken that we hang on their every word, awaiting the eventual revelation of the meaning of life. They're on TV, so they must know, you know? That Ed Begley, what an automotive authority he is. Who hasn't wanted to emulate the drunk starlet as she cruises through life thouroughly self-absorbed? Sarcasm aside, UK-based Motorists' Forum is suggesting the use of television and movie stars, as well as atheletes, to deliver positive messages about road safety.

The premise is that sports figures and popular characters are so well known in people's homes that they're almost like surrogate family members. Because of the familiarity, the feeling is people will pay attention to an embedded message about driving respectfully and raise awareness of poor and antisocial driving practices. They go on to link criminality to seriously bad driving and suggest rewarding responsible behavior behind the wheel. We don't know why, but suggesting we look to people who are yessed to death and insulated from the real world for cues on how to behave in the real world doesn't impress us. We Autobloggers have always been self-thinkers, though. For those that don't see the problem in looking to unqualified, well-known stars for life tips, we can't help you. Babies outgrow spoonfeeding quickly, there's no need for adults to return to the practice.

[Source: Motorists Forum via AutoExpress]

A recently-released study by the National Institute for Mental Health claims that five to seven percent of the population - perhaps up to 16 million Americans - suffers from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), or what could be colloquially referred to as "road rage syndrome".

Symptoms of IED include multiple bouts of anger that are out of proportion to the situation and which include a threat of violence or actual aggressive action towards a person or property. Said to be related to improper functioning of serotonin in the brain, the average age of onset is 14, with an average of 43 outbursts over one's lifetime. For what it's worth, we suffered from at least that many violent episodes while changing the head gasket on a GM Quad 4, but we're pretty sure that could have been addressed by dropping the car off at a junkyard instead of visiting a psychiatrist.

[Source: Yahoo!]

Perhaps its the fact that there are thousands of doddering septuagenarians plying area roads, but Miami, Florida has just been dubbed America's least courteous drivers. Or to put a finer point on it, they've got some road rage and rude driving issues. A new AutoVantage survey of 2,000 adult commuters in 20 major cities has concluded that Miami has the worst road etiquette. The Norwalk, Connecticut company's phone survey also found a lot of negative feelings in:

• Phoenix, Arizona
• New York, New York
• Los Angeles, California
• Boston, Massachusetts

And there must be something to the whole 'Minnesota Nice' thing, as Minneapolis topped the list of friendliest commuter cities. Other top finishers included:

• Nashville, Tennessee
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Seattle, Washington
• Atlanta, Georgia

AutoVantage questioned participants on everything from obvious displays of motoring anger (middle fingers, cutting off other cars, tailgating, etc.), turn signal use, talking on the phone, and 'driving too fast.'

[Source: The Associated Press via CNN.com]

(Top Tip, Evan!)

Hagerty Insurance,arguably best known for their accomodating policies for vintage and competition vehicles, polled its customers to develop a top-10 list of things that tick them off while driving:

• Distracted drivers talking on cell phones
• Slow drivers in the fast lane
• Pushy drivers who tailgate
• Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one or two car lengths
• Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes
• Hasty drivers who change lanes without signaling
• 'Road Rage'
• Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars
• Women applying makeup and men shaving
• Drivers who leave their turn signal on for miles

While it's nearly impossible to disagree with any of the above, we're surprised that "Road trip partners that insist on stopping at Taco Bell for a half-pound been burrito at the start of a six-hour drive" didn't make the list. Sound off with your own driving pet peeves in 'Comments.'

[Source: Hagerty Insurance]

According to the Washington Post, debt collectors are lobbying the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to again use automated dialers to contact mobile phones of debtors. Previously, collectors could use such technology but were banned back in 2003 as part of the FCC’s crackdown on telemarketers. Debt collectors argue they should not be under the same restrictions since their calls are not random, but rather targeted at debtors. Currently, collectors must dial cell numbers manually. The FCC has stated it will review the request.

Cell phones as driving distractions have been discussed here, here, and here. What’s your feeling about the collectors' claims? Would there be an impact if the FCC grants their request, or is this a non-issue? If granted, would it open the door for telemarketers and the ilk? (Answering the phone in the fast lane only to find a bill collector or telemarketer is recipe for road rage if we've ever heard one).

[Source: Washington Post via textually.org via Engadget]

Raymond Catchpole, a feng shui expert, reports on several ways to improve energy flow around one's vehicle to combat road rage. Some of his suggestions include:

• Don't park your car facing your residence, as cars are "predators" which can create feelings of unease among the building’s inhabitants.

• Remove clutter within the vehicle for better chi flow.

• Tie a blue ribbon to the rearview mirror, splash salt water in the interior (though probably not on any cloth seats) and keep a bottle of water in the car. These practices are said to encourage a clearer state of mind.

Catchpole's report was commissioned by the Aon Private Clients insurance group. As far as Autoblog can tell, this is not a leftover April Fools' prank. So what feng shui suggestions do you have and/or practice with your vehicle?

[Source: Auto Express]