WASHINGTON — The commute in the D.C. area would be great, if it weren’t for all those other $@%&ing people.
That’s the apparent conclusion of a Cars.com survey that found the D.C. area has the longest average commute of five metropolitan areas surveyed, the greatest percentage of people who enjoy their commutes — and the commuters most likely to swear while driving.
Jennifer Newman, editor-in-chief at Cars.com, said that the survey was conducted to find out “just what people are up to when they spend all this time in their cars, commuting every day.”
Among their findings was confirmation of a common joke: 69 percent of drivers nationally, and 63 percent in the D.C. area, thought they were a better driver than everyone else. That could have something to do with the swearing, Newman said.
“When you’re commuting, you’re a little frazzled sometimes, and so you can’t help but get frustrated at everyone around you because they’re not doing it right,” she said.
D.C. topped the nation in longest commute among those surveyed, with an average of 30 minutes to work and 32 minutes home. Yet 51 percent of those drivers said they enjoyed their commutes and 31 percent said they felt happiness, but 23 percent felt annoyance and 49 percent swear at other drivers — all of which top the nation.
Part of the reason D.C.-area commutes are enjoyable could have to do with the fact that D.C. led the nation in commuters who thought their commutes included nice scenery (47 percent).
Newman said D.C.-area residents were most likely to be working in their cars (10 percent, tied with Los Angeles) “and not disconnecting and enjoying the commute. … They’re even reading because their commute is so long.”
The numbers check out: 20 percent of commuters surveyed said they read on their smartphones while driving, another area in which D.C. led the nation.
“It’s a region where life doesn’t seem to slow down or stop,” Newman said.
Newman found it “gross and a little surprising” how many drivers admitted to picking their noses behind the wheel: 12 percent nationwide, with D.C. tied for second at 13 percent, behind Houston.
The survey was based on 1,636 responses collected between April 5 and April 7. Half of the responses were collected nationwide, while the rest were from the metropolitan areas of D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
