Road rules study suggests area drivers among dumbest

As if there were any doubt, a study of driver knowledge released yesterday indicated that a scary share of Massachusetts drivers are clueless.

''This is a surprise?" asked David S. Bookbinder of Revere, who drives around Eastern Massachusetts offering on-site computer support. ''I mean, why should drivers have to know the rules of the road or obey them?" he asked sarcastically.

More than 5,000 licensed drivers nationwide between the ages of 16 and 65 answered the 20-question test designed to measure basic knowledge about traffic laws and safety. They were also surveyed about their general driving habits.

Based on the results, nearly 20 million Americans, or about 1 in 10 drivers, would fail a driver's test, according to the study commissioned by GMAC Insurance, a part of General Motors' financing company.

Drivers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic did worst, with 20 percent failing. Massachusetts, where 77.2 percent passed, ranked ahead of only Rhode Island. Drivers in Oregon and Washington scored highest.

According to the study, many drivers have difficulty with such basic practices as merging and interpreting road signs.

One out of five drivers does not know that a pedestrian in a crosswalk has the right of way. One out of three drivers speeds up to make a yellow light, even when pedestrians are present, the study indicated. One out of 10 drivers regularly exceeds the speed limit by 11 or more miles per hour. One in three drivers said they would drink and drive as long as they felt ''all right" to get behind the wheel.

''As a nation of drivers, we've made little progress in the past 10 years to curb some of the most dangerous driving behaviors, including drinking and driving and speeding," Susan Ferguson, senior vice president of research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said in a statement.

Greg Horn, vice president for material damage claims at GMAC Insurance, cautioned against reading too much into the survey, which he said was intended to raise awareness of bad driving, not bruise New England's driving ego.

The survey's regional discrepancies do not mean drivers in the Northeast are worse, he said, only that they are less familiar with issues that rarely confront them, such as what to do in a dust storm or what a ''slow vehicle'' sign looks like.

Slow vehicle sign?

''When you have a lot of city drivers, they seem to score poorly on the test," he said. ''Rural drivers are the ones who score on the top."

Globe correspondent Alan Wirzbicki contributed to this report. Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com.

Scores

Averages on a 20-question test taken by more than 5,000 licensed drivers:

Oregon	89.4
Washington	88.4
Iowa	87.7
Vermont	86.6
New Hampshire	83.7
Maine	83.2
US	82.7
Connecticut	80.9
Massachusetts	77.2
Rhode Island	77.0

SOURCE: GMAC Insurance