NW Poll finds drivers seeing less politeness on the road

How often do you go out of your way to be a polite driver to others on the road? According to a new poll from PEMCO Insurance, drivers across the Northwest are seeing fewer courteous gestures from fellow commuters – like yielding, waving, signaling or allowing someone to pass – than they once reported in years past. Instead, the poll shows that respondents are more likely to witness rude gestures on the road today, compared to 2015.

PEMCO’s poll of Seattle and Portland residents found that the average number of polite gestures drivers say they see from others on the road has decreased significantly from 6.9 per month in 2015 down to 5.7 per month today.

In Portland, nearly half of respondents in 2015 (48%) said they personally saw a fellow driver go out of their way to be polite at least five times per month. Today, just one-third (36%) say they see at least five kind gestures from others on the road.

The situation was only slightly better in Seattle where 53% of drivers in 2018 witnessed five or more polite gestures, compared to just 40% of drivers today who say they see kindness at least five times per month from others.

Polite Driving Index

PEMCO has tracked aggressive vs. polite driving behaviors that Seattle and Portland drivers have either engaged in or witnessed since 2009, with subsequent polls taken in 2015 and 2018. We then derived the Polite Driving Index from two measurements: the total acts of politeness and the total acts of aggression, and then indexed to the 2009 baseline. We continue to see a decline.

Polite Driving Index = Total Politeness – Total Aggression

“When we talk about places known for aggressive drivers, the Pacific Northwest doesn’t often come to mind for many of us, so we’ll be interested to continue tracking these attitudes over time,” said PEMCO spokesperson Allison Leep. “While we all have room to improve, at PEMCO, we always champion safety above all else. By driving defensively rather than offensively we can ensure each other’s safety.”

Complete poll results

Aggressive Driving Behaviors: 2022 Regional Comparison

About the PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll

PEMCO Mutual Insurance commissioned this independent survey, conducted by FBK Research of Seattle, that asked Washington and Oregon residents questions about driving habits and attitudes toward current Northwest issues. The sample size, 420 respondents in the Seattle Metro (King, Snohomish, Pierce Counties) region and 418 respondents in the Portland Metro (Multnomah, Marion, Clackamas, Washington Counties) region yields an accuracy of +/- 5.0% respectively at the 95% confidence level. In other words, if this study were conducted 100 times, in 95 instances the data will not vary by more than the associated error range.

Supplemental interviews were conducted with people living in the Seattle metro area, including King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, and those in the Portland metro area, including Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah and Washington counties. The sample size, 578 respondents in the Seattle area and 509 in the Portland area, yields an accuracy of +/- 4.2% and +/- 4.4% respectively at the 95% confidence level.