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It's hard to believe after witnessing the daily idiocy that pervades Maryland's roads, but there's a glimmer of hope that the state's drivers might be getting a little more serious about safety.
The hopeful signs come in a recently released study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park, which surveyed 850 licensed drivers each year between 2003 and 2009 about their driving practices, attitudes and concerns.
The findings are a mixed bag. It turns out we're increasingly concerned about cell phone use while driving. But it also seems that a majority of us think it's OK just so long as it's us doing the chatting. Maryland drivers are in no danger of becoming a model of rational thinking.
Still, the survey suggests that in some ways, Maryland drivers are ahead of their political leaders in their willingness to crack down on unsafe behavior.
"We're moving in the right direction," said UM Professor Kenneth Beck, the lead researcher on the study.
Some of the most encouraging news concerns drunken driving. According to the surveys, 7.5 percent of those surveyed in 2009 reported that they had driven after several drinks sometime in the preceding month. In 2003, that total was 13 percent.
Nevertheless, the perception that drivers will be caught by police remains low despite a slight uptick this year. Over the past seven years, the notion that drivers are likely to be caught never exceeded 37 percent - well below the 45 percent that Beck believes should be a minimum goal.
The survey found the public is twice as likely to blame the courts than police for lenient treatment of drunken drivers. It found that 56 percent of Maryland motorists oppose the common practice of granting probation before judgment to avoid a drunken driving conviction.
"The public is growing frustrated with the judicial system's approach to how these cases are handled," Beck said.
According to the survey, Maryland motorists are prepared to support tough measures against drunken driving, including a mandatory $1,000 fine for a first offense, backed by 58 percent. With a second offense, support for that penalty rises to 87 percent.
The survey also finds growing support for mandatory ignition interlock devices - which prevent drivers from starting their cars while intoxicated. A whopping 86 percent would make the devices mandatory for repeat offenders, while 44 percent would require them after a first conviction. Nearly half would support a six-month license suspension for a first drunken driving offense.
More surprising is the level of support for impoundment of vehicles as a punishment for drunken driving. Three-quarters of those surveyed thought seizure of a vehicle for at least 30 days would be an appropriate sanction for a repeat offender. More than 4 in 10 would grab the car after one strike.
Marylanders' attitudes have also been evolving when it comes to the use of seat belts. The percentage of drivers who report they always wear belts - as is required in Maryland - has risen from about 87 percent in 2003 to 92 percent or higher in recent years. The increase comes even though only 40 percent believe they will be caught if they don't.
Cell phone use behind the wheel remains a practice about which Marylanders are conflicted. The percentage of state motorists who call cell phone use a serious concern has grown from the low 70s in 2003 to the mid-80s this year. But the percentage of drivers who says they've chatted while driving within the past 30 days has grown from half to more than 60 percent.
In effect, Maryland motorists think they're capable of multi-tasking but have doubts about the other guy. Beck said that view turns up in survey after survey.
"Most drivers think they're better than most other drivers," he said. (And all their children are above average.)
The most intractable driving behaviors - at least so far - involve speeding and aggressive driving, the survey indicates. The percentage of motorists concerned about aggressive driving has bounced between the high 80s and mid-90s in recent years, and about 55 percent of Marylanders reported an encounter with an aggressive driver in the previous 30 days.
But those concerns haven't translated into changes in how we drive. The survey found no significant change in the percentages of drivers reporting that they had broken the speed limit by 10 mph or more (61 percent) or by 20 mph (15 percent).
"It's less socially unacceptable to speed than it is to drink and drive," Beck said.
So there you have it. We're a bunch of road-raging, street-racing, distracted menaces. But at least we're more sober, less likely to fly through a windshield and aware that our courts are broken. For these small gains, let us be thankful.
The hopeful signs come in a recently released study by the University of Maryland School of Public Health in College Park, which surveyed 850 licensed drivers each year between 2003 and 2009 about their driving practices, attitudes and concerns.
The findings are a mixed bag. It turns out we're increasingly concerned about cell phone use while driving. But it also seems that a majority of us think it's OK just so long as it's us doing the chatting. Maryland drivers are in no danger of becoming a model of rational thinking.
Still, the survey suggests that in some ways, Maryland drivers are ahead of their political leaders in their willingness to crack down on unsafe behavior.
"We're moving in the right direction," said UM Professor Kenneth Beck, the lead researcher on the study.
Some of the most encouraging news concerns drunken driving. According to the surveys, 7.5 percent of those surveyed in 2009 reported that they had driven after several drinks sometime in the preceding month. In 2003, that total was 13 percent.
Nevertheless, the perception that drivers will be caught by police remains low despite a slight uptick this year. Over the past seven years, the notion that drivers are likely to be caught never exceeded 37 percent - well below the 45 percent that Beck believes should be a minimum goal.
The survey found the public is twice as likely to blame the courts than police for lenient treatment of drunken drivers. It found that 56 percent of Maryland motorists oppose the common practice of granting probation before judgment to avoid a drunken driving conviction.
"The public is growing frustrated with the judicial system's approach to how these cases are handled," Beck said.
According to the survey, Maryland motorists are prepared to support tough measures against drunken driving, including a mandatory $1,000 fine for a first offense, backed by 58 percent. With a second offense, support for that penalty rises to 87 percent.
The survey also finds growing support for mandatory ignition interlock devices - which prevent drivers from starting their cars while intoxicated. A whopping 86 percent would make the devices mandatory for repeat offenders, while 44 percent would require them after a first conviction. Nearly half would support a six-month license suspension for a first drunken driving offense.
More surprising is the level of support for impoundment of vehicles as a punishment for drunken driving. Three-quarters of those surveyed thought seizure of a vehicle for at least 30 days would be an appropriate sanction for a repeat offender. More than 4 in 10 would grab the car after one strike.
Marylanders' attitudes have also been evolving when it comes to the use of seat belts. The percentage of drivers who report they always wear belts - as is required in Maryland - has risen from about 87 percent in 2003 to 92 percent or higher in recent years. The increase comes even though only 40 percent believe they will be caught if they don't.
Cell phone use behind the wheel remains a practice about which Marylanders are conflicted. The percentage of state motorists who call cell phone use a serious concern has grown from the low 70s in 2003 to the mid-80s this year. But the percentage of drivers who says they've chatted while driving within the past 30 days has grown from half to more than 60 percent.
In effect, Maryland motorists think they're capable of multi-tasking but have doubts about the other guy. Beck said that view turns up in survey after survey.
"Most drivers think they're better than most other drivers," he said. (And all their children are above average.)
The most intractable driving behaviors - at least so far - involve speeding and aggressive driving, the survey indicates. The percentage of motorists concerned about aggressive driving has bounced between the high 80s and mid-90s in recent years, and about 55 percent of Marylanders reported an encounter with an aggressive driver in the previous 30 days.
But those concerns haven't translated into changes in how we drive. The survey found no significant change in the percentages of drivers reporting that they had broken the speed limit by 10 mph or more (61 percent) or by 20 mph (15 percent).
"It's less socially unacceptable to speed than it is to drink and drive," Beck said.
So there you have it. We're a bunch of road-raging, street-racing, distracted menaces. But at least we're more sober, less likely to fly through a windshield and aware that our courts are broken. For these small gains, let us be thankful.
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Baltimoresun.com's 
it is not that checkpoints are not needed but how come they are not done at happy hours when the children ar out and the lawyers and doctors and such are slopping up their martinis and then driving home, and are more of a danger to children.
farmway (09/08/2009, 4:44 AM )