.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Bully Pulpit

The term "bully pulpit" stems from President Theodore Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word "bully" as an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. The Bully Pulpit features news, reasoned discourse, opinion and some humor.

Monday, November 19, 2007

36 Million Licensed Americans Unfit To Drive According To GMAC Insurance Study

Results from the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test indicate that one in six drivers on the road - roughly 36 million licensed Americans - would not pass their written DMV exam if taken today. The third annual survey by GMAC Insurance gauges driver knowledge of the rules of the road by testing licensed Americans on actual questions from state DMV license exams.

According to this year's results, New York drivers ousted Rhode Island by ranking last in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on driver knowledge. Idaho, on the other hand, topped the list and dethroned Oregon's tenure at first place as the most knowledgeable drivers in the United States. While the national average score was 77.1 percent, New Yorkers had an average of 71 percent and the highest failure rates (36 percent); Idaho had an average score of 81.7 percent. In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with Arkansas, Minnesota, Kansas and Wisconsin ranking in the top five and New Jersey, Washington, DC, Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the bottom five among all states.


If you have ever driven in Atlanta, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, you will have no problem believing this. Of course, I'm pretty sure that a substantial percentage of that 36 million is on US 52 in Winston-Salem on most weekday mornings.

1 Comments:

Blogger Strother said...

If you have ever driven in Atlanta, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, you will have no problem believing this.

I have a few others to add: Los Angeles and Orange County, CA, inside the beltway of Nashville, and, increasingly, Charlotte. I-40 in Greensboro and Raleigh used to be worse, but give both locales a few years when all their new lanes are filled.

Of course, I'm pretty sure that a substantial percentage of that 36 million is on US 52 in Winston-Salem on most weekday mornings.

I've noticed that most M-F, AM US-52 drivers seem to be doing something else while driving: eating, applying makeup, talking on their phones while lighting cigarettes and drinking coffee, etc., as well as not watching for brake lights and/or driving the wrong speed in the wrong lane.

Monday, November 19, 2007 9:52:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home