Not Where...But WHEN Has The Worst Drivers?

Every now and again a "news" item will show up with the newest survey proclaiming this group or that group as the best and/or worst drivers in the country. Personally, I think these surveys are a way to get people to click on their sites. I'm not a person who studies surveys or one who participates in them, so I cannot speak to the validity of their findings, but for a person on the outside looking in, here's how they go:

Survey headline: Utah drivers are the worst drivers in the nation!

People read that which generates the typical responses. Here's how they go:

Response: I agree! I'm from California and I now live in Utah and Utah drivers ARE the worst!

Or, you get: I disagree! I lived in California for 3 months and they are MUCH worse than Utah drivers.

Then people pile on with either AGREE nor DISAGREE takes. The real questions is, do these surveys and expected responses helpful at all? Or are they a way to get people to click on their site and get in arguments about what is right and what isn't?

I don't have any answers for those questions. I have opinions, of course, but no hard and fast answers. And one of my opinions on driving is this--it's not necessarily where people live that make them bad drivers (major blanket statement coming...), but it's when people drive makes a bigger difference in the driving habits.

I got my drivers license in 1982. Since then I've driven mostly in Utah, a little in Colorado and in Europe. I've shared the road with friendly drivers, jerk drivers, considerate drivers, clueless drivers. And, I must admit, I've been guilty of being every one of those drivers before, less you think I'm putting my driving skills above all others.

I've noticed that the least aware drivers are on the road during non-drive by times. Now, I know I'm being judgemental, but it just seems the drivers are not paying as much attention as others. I do have another theory--a sub-theory--that many of the drivers on the road between 9am and 3pm have a lot of time to get wherever they're going and I suspect many have really no where to go anyway. At least, that's how they seem to operate their cars.

These are my opinions. They're only backed by my observations. And I'm sure as I get older and have more time to drive during non-drive-time hours, I'll probably look at everybody else and ask, "What's the hurry? Sheesh!"