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♦ WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2006
Georgia ranks 30th among national drivers
Special to the HHJ
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Results
from the second annual
GMAC Insurance National
Drivers Test announced
recently rank Georgia driv
ers 30th in the nation for
their driving knowledge.
Overall, the study suggests
that licensed Americans lack
basic driving knowledge and
exhibit alarming behaviors
on the road. In fact, one in
11 drivers nearly 18 mil
lion people would fail a
state drivers test.
Georgia drivers had an
overall average score of
83.2 percent; 13 percent of
Georgia respondents failed
the test. In 2005, the state
ranked 29th in the country.
The results come one year
after GMAC Insurance first
set out to gauge the knowl
edge of the American driving
public, when licensed drivers
were administered 20 ques
tions found on a typical DMV
written drivers test.
The 2006 findings indi
cate drivers still do not have
adequate knowledge of basic
rules of the road, and they
exhibit bad habits behind
the wheel.
Furthermore, the study
shows drivers deliberately
disregard pedestrians and
treat driving as the new
“down time,” where they
catch up on the day’s activi
ties, diverting their attention
from the road. For the second
year in a row, Oregon drivers
Tractor, trailer wreck
mmjk.i
HHJ Ray Lightner
Police have worked tractor-trailer wrecks on 1-75
before. But this tractor and trailer incident Tuesday
morning was a new one for Perry Police and the
Georgia State Patrol. The driver towing his tractor
on his trailer apparently lost control of the trailer
and dumped the tractor and the trailer off the road
just north of Thompson Road. The driver and the
tractor were OK, but the trailer was ruined. No cita
tions were issued.
For the love of kids
*
. spU I 9 #
submitted
Mayor Jim Worrall presents Joyce Handy of the
Houston County Department of Family and Children
Services, with a proclamation of appreciation for
foster care appreciation. May was Foster Care
Month in Georgia. The proclamation recognized the
services of foster parents and professionals in the
field, and the importance of providing safe, secure
and stable homes for the 15,000 children and teens
currently in state care.
OPEN FOR PLAY!
Memberships Available
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Houston Springs
Golf Club
Top drivers?
According to the 2006
GMAC Insurance National
Drivers Test here are the
top and bottom five states of
knowledgable drivers:
Best
Oregon, Washington,
Vermont, Idaho, South
Dakota
Worst
New York, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, District of
Columbia, Rhode Island
ranked highest on the test,
with an average score of 91
percent, and Rhode Island
ranked lowest, with an aver
age score of 75 percent.
The drivers test adminis
tered in the study is avail
able to the public online at
www.gmacinsurance.com, as
well as additional resources
such as tips to stay safe on
the road and the most com
mon accident causes.
Pedestrians beware
drivers disregard those
on foot
■ Results suggest many
Americans exhibit shocking
driving behaviors that not
only endanger themselves,
but jeopardize others both
on and off the road. Roughly
one in three drivers usually
do not stop for pedestrians
even if they’re in a cross
walk or at a yellow light.
■ According to the
Latest equipment
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Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety, pedestrians
constitute the second larg
est category of motor vehicle
crash deaths after vehicle
occupants, accounting for 11
percent of fatalities.
■ Forty-three percent of
all pedestrian iryuries and
22 percent of fatal iryuries
to pedestrians occur in col
lisions with motor vehicles
at intersections. In addition,
many pedestrians are killed
on sidewalks, median strips
and traffic islands.
Driving don’ts: where
Americans are lacking
■ Overall, drivers in the
Northeast region are most
apt to fail, with state failure
rates of 16 percent or more.
■ Drivers in the Pacific
Northwest and Midwest
regions are the most knowl
edgeable, with state failure
■
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rates ranging from 1 percent
to 7 percent.
■ Drivers under 35 years
old are most likely to fail a
written driving test (18-24
year olds have the lowest
average test scores); experi
enced drivers ages 35-60+,
are most likely to pass a
written driving test.
Pedestrian Protocol:
■ Roughly one in three
drivers don’t usually stop for
pedestrians - even if they’re
in a crosswalk or at a yellow
light.
■ At least one out of five
drivers do not know that
a pedestrian has the right
of way at a marked or
unmarked crosswalk.
•
Driving is the New “Down
Time”
■ American drivers engage
in a variety of distracting
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behaviors, like chatting on
a cell phone, sending text
messages, e-mailing friends,
selecting songs on iPods,
applying makeup, changing
clothes and reading.
Eating and talking on a
cell phone are by far the
most common activities (42
percent eat and 40 percent
chat on cell phones).
Younger drivers aged 18-
24 who are accustomed to
always being “plugged in”
have the most mentions for
every distracting situation
while driving.
More Bad Driving Habits
■ Nearly one-quarter of
Americans believe there are
circumstances in which it’s
acceptable to not wear a
seatbelt.
■ One in seven Americans
have packed their car so
tightly that their vision was
obstructed.
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
At least one in five drivers
do not know:
■ When to properly use
their high-beam headlights
or what to do when bright
headlights come at them at
night.
■ That highways are the
most slippery just when it
starts to rain after a dry
spell. In fact, this is the ques
tion most often answered
incorrectly for the second
year in a row. Fortunately,
97 percent of those tested
know what to do when they
hydroplane.
The test was administered
by Market Tools, a lead
ing global online market
research company. A bal
anced sample of 5,288 total
licensed respondents, aged
16-60+, were given a 20-
question test representative
of a DMV written drivers
test typically used to award a
driver’s permit or license.
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