We're Number Four!

According to the fourth annual “In the Driver's Seat Road Rage Survey,” commissioned by AutoVantage, Atlanta is the fourth-worst American city for road rage. New York unseated Miami as the least courteous city. In second is Dallas/Fort Worth and third is Detroit. Fifth is Minneapolis/St. Paul.

The main culprits cited by those surveyed included bad/careless driving, such as cutting others off, speeding, tailgating, talking on cell phones, making obscene gestures and not using proper signals.

On the flip side, the most courteous drivers are in:

1. Portland, Ore.;
2. Cleveland;
3. Baltimore;
4. Sacramento; and
5. Pittsburgh.

Another study ranked metro Atlanta fourth among nine Southeastern metro areas on a range of factors affecting economic growth.

The benchmarking index was compiled by Harrison Campbell, associate professor of geography at UNC Charlotte. He ranked the metro areas on employment and labor; income and productivity; livability and connectivity; new economy; and equity and diversity.The cities ranked as follows:

1. Raleigh-Durham area;
2. Austin, Texas;
3. Charlotte;
4. Atlanta;
5. Dallas;
6. Richmond, Va.;
7. Nashville;
8. Tampa; and
9. Jacksonville.