Watch out Pedestrians!
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Watch out Pedestrians!
| Thu, 06-08-2006 - 2:45pm |
Which state do you live in and how did your state rank? Do you think you could pass the drivers test now if you had to suddenly re do it? (written and practical?) This is one scary article!
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Nearly 10% of America's drivers couldn't pass a DMV licensing test if they had to take it today. Could you? Plus: See how your state fared.
At least one of every five drivers doesn't know when to use bright lights, how to follow directional arrows or when highways are the most slippery, results from a national driver's test show.
GMAC Insurance administered a 20-question test -- similar to a traditional licensing test at the local DMV – to 5,288 drivers and released the results last week. Of those tested, nearly 10% were unable to answer enough questions correctly to achieve a passing score of 70.
If the test results are any guide, America's pedestrians are in deep, deep trouble.
- 20% of drivers do not know that a pedestrian has the right of way at a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
- 1 in 3 drivers don’t usually stop for pedestrians – even if they’re in a crosswalk or at a yellow light.
- One-third admit they speed up to make a yellow light even when pedestrians are in the crosswalk.
Oregon tops; Rhode Island worst
The lowest average score came out of Rhode Island, whose drivers in the sample averaged a 75.1; more than a quarter of Rhode Island drivers in the sample failed the test. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York posted average scores almost as low, and failure rates in the region averaged 16%.
Drivers in Oregon, on the other hand, averaged a score of 90.6, and the Northwest overall had the most knowledgeable drivers, with failure rates below 7%.
Drivers older than 35 were not only more likely to pass, they were less likely to treat their time behind the wheel as "down time." Younger drivers, though, reported doing everything from applying makeup to fiddling with iPods at much higher rates. About 1 in 4 had sent text messages from a cell phone; 8% had changed clothes while driving.
"The rules of the road should not be something you learn once when you are 16 years old," says Gary Kusumi, CEO and president, GMAC Insurance-Personal Lines. "We want to remind everyone that they need to work on their driving skills every day."
How did your state score?
Rank
State
Score
Rank
State
Score
1
Oregon
90.6
27
Arkansas
83.8
2
Washington
88.2
28
Virginia
83.5
3
Vermont
87.5
29
Arizona
83.4
4
Idaho
87.3
30
Georgia
83.2
4
South Dakota
87.3
30
Louisiana
83.2
6
Montana
87.2
32
North Carolina
83.1
7
Nebraska
87
32
Maine
83.1
8
Kansas
86.8
34
Ohio
83
9
Iowa
86.7
35
Oklahoma
82.9
10
Wyoming
86.2
36
Alabama
82.8
11
Wisconsin
86.1
37
Missouri
82.7
12
Minnesota
86
37
Delaware
82.7
13
Alaska
85.8
39
Nevada
82.6
14
California
85.6
40
South Carolina
82.3
15
Indiana
85.2
40
Florida
82.3
15
Colorado
85.2
42
Pennsylvania
82.1
17
Michigan
85.1
43
New Mexico
81.5
18
North Dakota
85
44
Connecticut
80.9
19
West Virginia
84.8
45
Hawaii
80.7
20
Utah
84.5
46
Maryland
79.5
21
Mississippi
84.4
47
New York
79.4
22
Illinois
84.3
48
New Jersey
78.6
23
Tennessee
84.2
48
Massachusetts
78.6
24
Texas
84
50
District of Columbia
76.5
24
Kentucky
84
51
Rhode Island
75.1
26
New Hampshire
83.9
Source: GMAC Insurance



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