It's safe to say that when Steve Cebulka is behind the wheel, he knows what he's doing.
He's safely conquered Germany's high-speed autobahn, skillfully maneuvered his '86 Porsche around hairpin turns at racetracks across America and shared his expertise with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Despite his experience, Cebulka -- unlike his fellow Delawareans -- said he's only an average driver.
"I'd say nobody's a great driver," said Cebulka, chairman of William Penn High School's driver education department.
But according to a new survey, 61 percent of Delawareans -- especially men and Republicans -- believe they are better than the average driver.
"Most people tend to think that everyone else is the problem," said Peter Woolley, a political science professor and director of the poll, conducted by New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University.
To be precise, Delawareans accused New Jersey drivers of being the problem.
According to the poll, 45 percent pointed their fingers at Jersey drivers, 27 percent said Pennsylvania drivers were the worst, and 9 percent cited Maryland. Only 4 percent said Delaware drivers were worse than their neighbors.
Gregory Stevenson, 48, said he gets especially frustrated by out-of-state residents who pack the beach resort towns in the summer.
"They weave in and weave out," said Stevenson, who lives in Georgetown and used to drive a dump truck and a school bus. "They'll just shoot right in front of me.
"
Drexel University student Ben Riblett said Pennsylvania drivers are much more aggressive.
"Everybody's flying, then I get across the state line and it's an accordion effect," he said.
But the numbers show that the fatality rate on Delaware's roads is higher than those in neighboring states.
The rate of 1.44 deaths per 100 million miles traveled in Delaware, was higher than the rates in New Jersey (0.99), Pennsylvania (1.
38) and Maryland (1.16), according to data from 2004, the most recent available.
A growing number of the fatalities in the state were due to speeding -- ironic considering that 40 percent of Delawareans polled, and a majority of those younger than 45, said speed limits should not be enforced.
That's not the only number from the poll that might leave you scratching your head.
The fact that more men than women think highly of their driving might be rationalized as male cockiness. But even Woolley said he couldn't begin to explain why 72 percent of Republicans, and only 51 percent of Democrats, thought they were better-than-average drivers.
Mark Gibigliano of Claymont, who holds a particular disdain for cell phone-chatting drivers, believes a lot of unqualified drivers clog the streets.
"I think a lot of people can't drive," said. "They can't drive at all.
People like to throw their turn signal on -- or not -- after they make the turn."
We all like to think we're good drivers, said Catherine Rossi, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman.
But the statistics don't back up that belief.
In 2005, 43,443 people were killed in traffic crashes nationwide -- 134 on Delaware roads, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
When it comes to losing lives, Rossi said, car crashes are a bigger threat than the Iraq war.
"Yet we tend to be complacent in accepting death on our highways," she said.
According to the poll, only 44 percent of Delawareans worry often that they or a loved one might be in a life-threatening crash.
And only about 12 percent could come within 10,000 people when they tried to guess how many Americans are killed in car crashes in the U.S.
each year.
To Woolley, the results mean that people don't understand the extent to which auto accidents are a public health problem.
"Crashes are an everyday occurrence that simply have become part of the fabric of life," he said.
What drivers might not realize, though, he said, is that their lifetime odds of dying in a car crash are 1 in 84, according to the National Safety Council.
While most drivers might be somewhat conceited about their abilities, they also realize the importance of driver education.
In the poll, 66 percent said they supported spending more money on high school driver education, and 73 percent said it should be more difficult for teens to get their licenses.
While young drivers often make mistakes because of their lack of experience, simulated driving courses, such as the one Cebulka guided William Penn High sophomores though Monday, provide a level of training that few drivers get, he said.
"The kids say they're even telling their parents what they're doing wrong," Cebulka said. "We can teach them how to pass a road test, or we can teach them to be safe drivers for the rest of their lives, and that's what I do.
"
Of course, it's not just adult drivers who are cocky about their behind-the-wheel skills.
When Cebulka's students were asked how many thought they were better-than-average simulated drivers, 17-year-old Alesseon Reed was the first to raise his hand.
Then he learned he was the worst in the class, scoring only 47 percent on the simulated streets of downtown Philadelphia.
"I'm usually much better, you can ask anyone," he said. "Everyone has their off days."
Staff reporters Eric Ruth and Rachael Jackson contributed to this article.
Staff reporters Eric Ruth and Rachael Jackson contributed to this article.
Contact Summer Harlow at 324-2794 or .
Read more on by www.delawareonline.com. All rights reserved.
Post comments
News RSS