National Road Rage Survey Ranks St. Louis 7th Most Courteous Courteous City in U.S.

Norwalk, Conn., June 16, 2009 –The commute to work can be an unpleasant one for people across the country, but the road is smoother for St. Louis drivers.

The fourth annual In the Driver’s Seat Road Rage Survey, commissioned by AutoVantage, a leading national auto club, found that St. Louis, tied with Philadelphia, is the seventh most courteous city in the country, in terms of road rage, compared to 24 other major American cities. That’s an improvement from last year’s No. 12 most courteous city.

Quieter roadways contributed to its move up in the ranking. St. Louis drivers are the second least likely to admit honking their horn as a reaction to rude or aggressive driving in the past month, behind Portland, Ore. In addition, St. Louis drivers are the fourth least likely to admit talking on their cell phones while driving every day. However, they are No. 1 for seeing other drivers commit this offense.

For the first time in four years, a new city claims the title as the worst in the U.S. for road rage; New York has unseated Miami as the least courteous. Portland, Ore., ranked as the most courteous city.

The In the Driver’s Seat 2009 AutoVantage Road Rage Survey, released today, was conducted to determine the driving habits and attitudes of commuters across the country and to learn more about consumer views on the topic of road rage.

“At AutoVantage, we’ve made the drive easier every day by completing more than 1 million service calls for our customers, with everything from 24-hour roadside assistance to towing to lockout service and more. This survey is another way we assist drivers by revealing the latest driving trends and attitudes to educate and influence safer—and perhaps more courteous—driving habits,” said Brad Eggleston, vice president of AutoVantage.

Download the entire release (pdf)