Yahoo! Autos Survey Shows Americans Prefer Getting Cavities Filled over Sitting in Gridlock Traffic

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Nov. 5, 2003--

People Talking on Cell Phones and Drivers Who Tailgate Considered Biggest Driving Pet Peeves

Americans may love their cars, but they hate gridlock. According to a recent Yahoo!(R) Autos (http://autos.yahoo.com) survey conducted by Harris Interactive, consumers would rather get a cavity filled at the dentist (24 percent) than sit in gridlock traffic for over an hour (12 percent).

What else would people choose over backed-up traffic? Standing in line at the DMV (22 percent), sitting in the middle seat of an airplane during a transatlantic flight (19 percent), and dealing with a crowded mall during the busiest shopping day of the year (17 percent). The only unpleasant activity in the survey that ranked lower than sitting in traffic was standing up in a crowded subway for over an hour (5 percent).

Even on the move, commuting brings additional annoyances. When asked about driving pet peeves, not surprisingly, the number one answer to the survey was people talking on their cell phones and not paying attention to the road (30 percent). Tailgaters (25 percent) and people who don't use their turn signals (14 percent) were next on the pet peeves list, followed by being cut off (13 percent) and someone braking too frequently in front of you (11 percent).

"The daily commute is simply part of life for the majority of Americans. Almost 70 percent of us commute to work, although a lucky 25 percent have a commute of less than 10 minutes," said Brett Gardner, senior marketing manager for Yahoo! Autos. "With the loss of personal time, productivity and headaches associated with commuting, it is no wonder that consumers would select traffic as one of the most frustrating activities today."

Wasting Time and Money

Traffic is not only frustrating -- it's expensive. According to the 2003 Urban Mobility Study by the Texas Transportation Institute, the average U.S. commute time is now 25 minutes -- and it's getting worse. Nearly eighty percent of respondents to the Yahoo! Autos survey said that the length of their commute has either increased (31 percent) or stayed the same (48 percent). All that congestion translates into a national average of 42 gallons of excess fuel consumed by each person per year(1).

The Internet can be helpful in finding out ways to save time and money when it comes to commuting and traffic. On Yahoo! Autos (http://autos.yahoo.com) consumers can find tips for conserving fuel and lowering the cost of driving, along with information on which cars get the best gas mileage.

Methodology

The Yahoo! Autos survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive(R), is based on responses from 2,055 U.S. adult consumers between October 8-10, 2003 and has a statistical precision of plus or minus three percentage points.