America's Distracted, Road-Rage-Prone Drivers are Surprisingly Happy

(MoneyWatch)  It's no great surprise that insurance companies keep tabs on how their drivers are doing. After all, unhappy, road-rage-prone drivers (sending out all-cap text messages as they negotiate the potholes) are more likely to get into accidents. The surprising thing is that The Hartford's latest survey of American urban drivers finds them happier than you'd expect, given congestion and poor road maintenance. But there are plenty of danger signals.

The 2010 Drivability Survey, conducted by GfK Roper, finds that 57 percent of drivers (in St. Louis, Kansas City, Charlotte, Hartford, Denver, Phoenix and Jacksonville) describe their cities as "very drivable" (and more than 90 percent say they're at least "somewhat drivable.") But, alarmingly in such a bad employment economy, only 10 percent say they would commute "as long as necessary" to get to a job with work they found especially interesting.

If that great job means an hour on the road each way, 29 percent would turn it down. This is in line with findings from global consulting firm BlessingWhite, which concludes that work-life balance is always among the top three criteria when people consider their next job. "People want work that 'works' for them," said Christopher Rice, president and CEO of BlessingWhite.

"We feel it's important to understand the driving situation our people face every day," Steve Jones, a Hartford vice president, told me. "If we can understand the situation, maybe there's something we can do about it." He's not just saying that -- Hartford actually does partner locally to fix potholes.

I asked if, as seems obvious, angry drivers get in more accidents. "We haven't scientifically tested that, but we believe happy drivers are safer drivers," Jones said. "We do feel it's a good idea to help people feel better about their drives."

The daily commute averages 26 minutes each way, according to the survey, which is enough to get anybody's blood boiling -- and one clear reason people won't add to their in-car time, even for a great job. The average driver loses 14 minutes a day to traffic delays, 56 hours per year -- the equivalent of seven work days. (Click image at right for a larger version.)

Distracted driving remains a big problem, for insurance companies and for safe roads. Some 80 percent of drivers perform other tasks at the wheel. And76 percent of respondents say they eat and drink in the car, 67 percent talk on a cellphone (illegal in some states), and 23 percent text (the rate goes up to 32 percent for people under 50).

Despite all this stuff, however, people still say positive things about driving in their cities. Although 36 percent "strongly agree" with the idea that traffic is getting worse in their region, nearly all think it's "easy" to get around, and almost three-quarters say that fellow drivers are "courteous." If so, that must mean the upraised fingers I see have other, more arcane meanings.

Related:

• Distracted Driving: The Perils and Promise of Voice Recognition

Traffic jam image via Flickr user Burning Image, CC 2.0; Graphics: The Hartford