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A survey commissioned by WTOP says that of all the drivers filling the region’s highways and roadways, the motorists in the District are the worst. The poll, which was conducted earlier this month, questioned 550 Washington-area drivers, only 100 of whom actually reside in D.C.
Almost half the respondents—49 percent, to be exact—in the suburban-tilted survey said that D.C. drivers are the worst, with 21 percent saying Maryland and 20 percent choosing the correct answer, Virginia. Those results make a bit more sense when one considers the fact that aside from the 100 District residents polled, the survey queried 200 people in Virginia and 250 in Maryland, who appeared to arrive at a rare moment of comity in order to bash their city-dwelling neighbors. Thirty-eight percent of all respondents said Virginia was the best, 37 said Maryland and only a meager eight percent considered D.C. to be home to the area’s best drivers. Nine percent said everyone is equally horrible behind the wheel.
Then again, some of the derogation of D.C. drivers is self-inflicted. Virginia and Maryland motorists have high opinions of themselves—69 percent and 60 percent, respectively, say they are the best. Only 41 percent of District drivers said they should be considered masters of the road.
But there was broader consensus on some of the things that contribute to what makes driving here such an awful experience. (Remember, earlier this month Jalopnik called the D.C. area the ninth-worst place to be a car owner.) Forty-seven percent of all drivers surveyed said that their biggest gripe was seeing other drivers text or talk on the phone while attempting to operate a car.
The survey also found that nearly two-thirds feel that speed cameras are just a money-making scheme for the towns and cities that install them, while 35 percent think the cameras actually make the roads safer. (No word on whether that cohort will be made to feel any less welcome when dining at Chef Geoff’s.)
And a whopping 79 percent support extending Metrorail’s Silver Line through Loudoun County.
WTOP’s “Beltway Poll” was conducted by Heart + Mind Strategies, a polling firm based in Reston.
