Happy Houston Drivers? One Survey Says So

HOUSTON, TX — The words "content" and "Houston drivers" belong in the same sentence about as much as "root canal" and "pure joy" belong in the same line. But a survey by cars.com says it's quite the opposite. And you wouldn't believe what many Houstonians claim to do in traffic, other than eat and browse their phones. Hint: it's what the Snells kid did in Caddyshack.

The website says 40 percent of commuters love driving and being in their car, which was echoed by commuters in Chicago (40 percent) and Houston (40 percent), who claim they’re content with their me-time.

"Houstonians often feel content while driving and think their fellow drivers are courteous. They spend their time in the car eating and drinking and listening to audiobooks. Commuters admit to being distracted by their smartphone (even shop) and picking their nose."

Cars.com commissioned a quantitative online survey in April 2018 that looked at national and regional behaviors of commuters, such as what bad habits they exhibit on their drive, the types of activities they perform while commuting, etc. A total of 1,636 responses where collected between April 5-7, 2018 which comprised of a national sample with the remaining evenly distributed amongst five metropolitans including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Here's what it said about the other four metropolitan areas:

Atlanta Brings the Southern Hospitality with an Edge: Atlanta’s commuters are most likely to drink iced tea and least likely to be annoyed or angry behind the wheel compared to the other four cities surveyed. However, Atlanta drivers do have a rebellious streak – they’re most likely to not pay attention to speed limits and most likely to text while driving.

LA’s Road Warriors: There’s not a lot of love in Los Angeles for commuting as the city’s survey respondents hate their commute the most and are most likely to be stressed while driving. The city also ranks worst for commuter friendliness, commuting time (tied with Washington, D.C.) and congestion. Notably, Los Angeles residents are most likely to give up their vehicle for an autonomous car (41 percent compared to 28 percent nationally).

Chicago’s Zen Commuters: Like Houstonians, Chicago commuters feel content and happy when driving. In fact, they’re most likely to be “zoned out” or daydreaming while driving. They have one of the best commutes of the five cities in terms of congestion and traffic, and spend their drives singing, listening to music and drinking coffee.

Washington, D.C.’s Cranky Commuters: D.C. commuters are most likely to feel annoyed, angry and exhausted when driving, and more often take out their frustrations by swearing. Their commutes are long (tied with Los Angeles), so D.C. commuters use the time to catch up on work, with 20 percent admitting to reading on their smart device while driving compared to just seven percent nationally.

Image of I-610 loop near River Oaks and Bellaire by Scott McDonald/Patch