AutoVantage Survey on Road Rage Identifies Baltimore as 3rd Least Courteous City in the US

Stamford, CT- May 12, 2014- When it comes to getting to and from work, a recent survey says Baltimoreans have it worse than citizens in just about any other city.

The 2014 In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey identified Baltimore as having the third least courteous drivers across America's largest cities. This represents a dramatic "increase" of 20 spots from the same survey in 2009.

Rankings were determined by measuring a wide array of driving actions that inhabitants admit to performing and acknowledge seeing, along with observations of their reactions to other drivers.

When compared to drivers in other cities, survey participants in Baltimore are:

• Most likely to make an obscene gesture at another driver
• 2nd most likely both to see someone else tailgating and 2nd most likely to acknowledge tailgating someone
• 2nd most likely to admit eating or drinking while driving
• Tied (with Orlando) as most likely to acknowledge doing something else like putting on makeup or reading while driving

While drivers in Baltimore were identified as among the least courteous, Portland, OR was identified as having the most courteous drivers.

The survey's best and worst cities were:

"AutoVantage aims to provide peace-of-mind for our members, with world class technology that ensures rapid assistance in our customers' time of need," said Rob DiPietro, GVP of Product Services for AutoVantage. "The survey prepares our members for the things that they may encounter when driving in a new city."

The In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey, commissioned by AutoVantage, the complete car and roadside assistance service, measured behavior, observations and attitudes related to "road rage" as reported in America's 25 largest cities, and provides an update to previous research completed in 2009.

Other cities surveyed in 2014 include Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Observations for each city can be found at www.autovantage.com/roadrage.html.

Survey methodology

Prince Market Research, an independent research company, was commissioned to conduct a nationally representative study with consumers in 25 major metropolitan areas in the US to learn more about consumer views on road rage. Overall rankings were calculated by the same methodology used in 2009, in which the sum of rankings for each of the questions asked was used to calculate a Net Discourtesy Score. Surveys were conducted between March 27, 2014 and April 4, 2014, during which time 2,500 consumers age 21 and above, and who personally drove during rush hour (Monday through Friday) no fewer than 3 days per week, were surveyed. Average participation time was approximately 6 minutes, and participants were neither compensated for their participation nor told who the research sponsor was.

Changes from 2009 Survey

Cincinnati, Cleveland and Sacramento, which appeared in the 2009 iteration of the In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey, were omitted and replaced by Charlotte, Orlando and San Antonio to ensure that the top 25 markets as defined by MSA were represented. Additionally, as opposed to 2009, half of respondents to the 2014 In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey were tabulated via online survey, whereas the 2009 iteration of the report was only based on phone interviews.

For more information, visit www.autovantage.com or www.twitter.com/MyAutoVantage

About AutoVantage

AutoVantage, the complete car and roadside assistance service, uses state-of-the-art LocateMe® technology to ensure the fastest possible response at a member's moment of need. Built on an army of more than 15,000 local providers, AutoVantage offers peace of mind for members and their entire families with 24/7 road and tow services. For more information, visit www.autovantage.com