::sniff:: I'm SO proud!

Worst drivers: Teens, doctors, lawyers

Steer clear of architects, too.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It shouldn't surprise you that students get in more car wrecks than those in any other occupation. They're inexperienced and lack a healthy dose of fear. Lucky for them that a doctor is likely to be at the scene. Medical doctors rank second in accident rates.

According to data from Quality Planning Corporation, a San Francisco-based company that helps insurance companies rate driver risk, attorneys, architects and real estate agents round out the top five most crash-prone occupations. [...]

The company also looked at which occupations are most prone to speeding tickets. Again, students, nine percent of whom got a speeding ticket, top the list. Virtually tied for second place enlisted military personnel, manual laborers and politicians, all of whom got speeding tickets at a rate of about eight percent. Seven percent of architects got speeding tickets. Architects and students were the only professions to make the top five in both lists. [...]

Amazingly enough, my only accidents and speeding tickets occurred while I was a student.

As for why my brothers and sisters rank so high in collisions, I can only suppose that like doctors, they are running on only a little bit of sleep, and like lawyers and real estate agents, they are on the cell phone all the time. (I remember when I worked at the Bad Place, I sometimes would have to ride with my boss, who would talk on the phone, drink coffee, and floss his teeth at the same time.)

As for the speeding part of the equation, probably equal parts inattention and the need to respond to an urgent call from a client screaming about something the contractor did on a jobsite, or vice versa.

In my case, the sleeplessness is no longer having to do multiple all nighters to finish a job, it's just regular old parental duties that require staying up all hours. Sometimes it's real hard to keep going, and it would probably be better if I just pulled over and collapsed for a few minutes. I do refuse to carry a beeper or cell phone, so that cuts down some on the distractions, and I have become much more patient driver over the years.

Nothing breeds caution like having to pay an increase in premiums out of your OWN pocket, rather than out of mom and dad's.
posted by Terry at 10:17:00 AM