The Times Poll : Traffic or No, We Love Our Autos

Bumper to bumper beneath a beige sky, swearing we’ll move away tomorrow, shaking our fists and brandishing our fingers, we Southern Californians keep on driving all the same, captives of a car culture we can’t quite renounce.

The spell may be wearing off. We don’t like what the automobile is doing to our environment. A third of us rated traffic in our communities as very congested and have considered moving away from the region because of traffic congestion.

In Orange County, it’s worse. More than half of us consider traffic in our own communities as very congested, and a full 45% of us have thought about leaving as a result.

Those are some of the results of a Times poll that asked people in Southern California a variety of questions about their cars, their driving habits and their attitudes about driving in general.

Pollsters, directed by I. A. Lewis, interviewed 2,032 Southern California residents between Sept. 23 and 27. The overall poll results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. The results for Orange County, where 216 people were polled, have a margin of error of 9%.

Though we bemoan traffic congestion, we are a long way from giving up on the car. It has been a year or more since the great majority of drivers (83% in Southern California, 86% in Orange County) rode a bus. Less than a third of us say we would make frequent use of mass transit if it were available, and a big majority (84% throughout the region, 90% in Orange County) still drives to work alone.

Respondents from Orange County, where a half-cent sales tax increase to finance major highway and mass transit construction projects is on the ballot in November, consistently reported even more frustration with the staggering congestion.

In Orange County, 88% said that traffic is the same or has gotten worse during the last 15 years, compared to 79% of respondents in Southern California.

In dealing with the daily grind, nearly four out of 10 of us say we have made indecent gestures while driving, according to the poll. In Orange County, 42% of us said we do the same.

One in 10 of us in Southern California has gotten into an argument with another driver during the past year. When we have an accident--and 13% of us say we have had one this year--most of us (65%) blame it on the other guy. The poll results in Orange County are about the same.

Given the traffic conditions, Southern Californians are, not surprisingly, an impatient bunch of drivers. Virtually everyone admits to driving over the speed limit at least some of the time. One of five drivers admits to running a red light during the last month.

Most households in the region have at least two cars, and 32% have at least three cars. In Orange County, 39% have three or more cars.

When asked to say what their cars meant to them, the great majority of people made positive statements. Many said their cars give them the freedom to do what they want. Others said they could count on their cars to take them where they needed to go, and some people said their cars are a reflection of themselves and their life styles.

The poll found that cars reflect their owners’ personalities in several ways.

About 11% of the people polled have pet names for their cars. There are no runaway favorites, but “Betsy,” “sweetheart,” “beast” and “Bossmobile” are among the more popular names across Southern California. Among the car names mentioned by those polled in Orange County were “My Horsi,” “Bicky” and “The Van.”

Southern Californians drive an average of 117 miles a week, the poll found. More than 37% of them say that commuting time has increased. In Orange County, motorists say they drive an average of about 111 miles a week, while 36% said their commute now takes longer.

A few drivers admit that they can pose a danger on the road. Seven percent say they have driven after drinking too much during the past year (11% in Orange County). One of every 20 drivers carries a gun in the car, according to the poll.

Questioned about their pet driving peeves, the largest group (28%) mentioned slow drivers and an equal number complained about people who turn without signaling.

It is the more affluent driver--the one making upwards of $40,000--who feels the pressure of congestion most and who has thought most about moving away, poll results show. Moreover, it is the affluent male driver who is more likely to represent a menace on the road. The poll suggests that the male driver who makes more than $40,000 a year is more likely to carry a gun in his car, drink and drive, to speed, run red lights, get in arguments with other drivers, make indecent gestures and become involved in accidents.

While some of us in Southern California are quite happy with the cars we drive, owning a Mercedes is on top of most people’s auto wish list. Close behind are Jaguar, Cadillac and Corvette. Fifteen percent said they already own the car of their dreams (12% in Orange County).

If cars are us and if each make and model is a reflection of its owner, it seems a fair question to ask what a Jeep owner is like, or how the owner of a Toyota differs from a Ford owner?

Most Jeep owners tend to be Anglo men living in the suburbs. Most of them are under 45 and make more than $40,000 a year. More of them than not describe themselves as political conservatives.

If the Jeep looks more like a recreational vehicle than a town car, its owners, by and large, say they are more interested in doing things that give them personal satisfaction than they are in working hard and doing what is expected of them. Many Jeep owners even sound a bit guilty when talking about themselves--many saying that they are too materialistic.

As for owners of Fords and Toyotas, the poll shows them to be two distinct breeds.

Typically, Ford owners describe themselves as blue-collar workers and high school graduates who make between $20,000 and $40,000 a year. Most are married. Many are over 65 years old. A great many of them say they are not interested in politics.

Toyota owners, on the other hand, tend to be younger, single, and more affluent--making at least $40,000 a year. Many of their jobs are administrative in nature. Discussing their goals in life, they say that achieving personal satisfaction is more important than working hard.

More Southern Californians buy new cars than used--by a margin of 55% to 41%. The other 4% drive leased cars. In Orange County, leased cars are more common (11%), while 54% drive new cars and 35% used cars.

People in Southern California prefer foreign to domestic cars, with less than half (41%) saying that they would like a U.S.-made car. Autos from Japan and Germany are the most popular, according to the poll. Residents of Orange County seemed even less enamored of American cars, with 35% favoring those stamped “Made in the U.S.A.”

The most commonly owned cars in Southern California are the Honda Accord, the Honda Civic, and the Toyota Corolla and Celica. The most widely owned American-made car in Southern California is the Ford Mustang.

Orange County residents tend to pay more for their cars, the poll indicates. On average, buyers in Southern California as a whole spend just under $10,000 for cars, new and used, while the median price tag in Orange County is $11,922. Nearly half keep their cars for six years or longer.

Car dealers did not fare well in the poll. Asked to rank them for honesty and ethical standards, drivers put car dealers, along with insurance agents, at the bottom of a list of nine occupations. Ranked first were doctors followed by policemen, druggists, businessmen, lawyers and reporters (tied) and real estate agents.

While most people would like to own a fancier car, the majority have not been swept up in the latest gadget craze.

Only 4% of drivers have telephones in their cars, and while another 31% said they would like to have them, 64% indicated no interest in car phones. In Orange County, 5% had car phones, 26% said they wanted them.

The fuzzy dice fad has a small following. Only eight percent of drivers polled said they have some sort of ornament in their cars. It’s even less in Orange County, where only 3% said they display such items.

Bumper stickers are more in favor, with 18% putting them on the rear of their auto in Southern California (11% in Orange County). Eleven percent of drivers in the region say they customize their cars. Oversize tires and souped-up engines are the most popular modifications.

Seventeen percent of the people polled have car alarms; 23% have had their cars broken into. In Orange County, 18% said they had their cars burglarized and 16% had an alarm.

The vast majority of men and women polled (90%) said they pump their own fuel and most said they can perform routine maintenance chores. However, 6% said they couldn’t pump their own gas and 29% said they didn’t know how to change a tire.

Asked what a carburetor does, 82% of the men and 36% of the women interviewed knew the answer.

Although the biggest plurality, 36%, said they worry more about bad drivers than anything else on the road, 12% said they worry about breaking down. There may be good reason for that. Some drivers apparently aren’t accustomed to using their legs much.

According to the poll, it has been a year or more since 20% of the drivers have walked as far as four city blocks.

Staff writer Eric Bailey contributed to this story from Orange County.

A PROFILE OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DRIVER

Each percentage point represents about 130,000 Southern Californians. For example, 8%, or about a million adults, have ornaments such as fuzzy dice or booties hanging from their rear view mirrors. For other revealing statistics about the Southern Californian driver, see below. Pump their own gas: 90% Drive to work alone: 84% Have two or more cars (32% have three or more): 75% Drive a foreign car (41% drive an American car): 47% Often drive over the speed limit: 43% Are not sure what a carburetor is: 41% Buy a used car (55% buy new): 41% Agree that automobiles have ruined Los Angeles: 40% Have made an obscene gesture to another driver: 38% Say their pet peeve is people who drive slowly in the fast lane. Second biggest gripe is people who don’t signal (27%): 28% Had car broken into last year: 23% Have not walked four city blocks in the last year: 20% Have a bumper sticker: 18% Had a car accident in the last year (65% said it was the other guy’s fault): 13% Have had a fight with a driver in last year (1% physical): 12% Don’t drive a car in Southern California: 11% Have a gun in the car: 5%