Losing on the straights

When it came to disputes about comparative sibling misbehavior, most of us can remember a maternal scolding: “It’s not a competition.” Albertans would do well to remember this when they read about a poll that finds us ranking among the country’s worst drivers.

Even if we ranked best, well, as our mothers also pointed out, the fact that we play dangerously on the road less than little Dalton, Jean and Christy doesn’t mean we’re good.

According to the poll by Angus Reid, we top the list on littering and cellphone use while driving. And yes, this could simply mean that driving on straight flat roads gives us more time and opportunity to notice our fellow drivers’ bad habits.

According to the poll, 82 per cent of us have witnessed our fellow Albertans tailgating, 84 per cent have seen people turning without signaling and 82 per cent have seen other drivers cutting into their lane without notice. For the sake of double-blind accuracy testing, it would have been helpful if those same people had been asked if they’d ever committed such a sin themselves.

But let’s be honest, these results may simply mean that the respondents do drive the same wild-west thoroughfares the rest of us nervously venture out on. (Well, and maybe that the pollsters called an unrepresentative sample in B.C.)

It may not be a competition, but it would still be better if we won.