Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Interview With William Heenan

Aired May 27, 2002 - 10:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: When you get behind the wheel, do you feel like you are taking your life into your own hands? Well, maybe, but it depends on where you live. A steel industry group has released its annual report, quotes, "Nerves of Steel." It ranks the best and worst cities in which to drive.

According to the report, some interesting findings here. Miami has the rudest drivers, followed by Boston, Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That's quite a list. Those cities also make up the bulk of the most unsafe driving areas. In order: Boston, Washington, Miami, Dallas, and Denver.

So, joining us to discuss these findings is William Heenan, president of both the Steel Recycling Institute and the Steel Alliance, which sponsors this study. William Heenan, we say good morning and hello to you on this Memorial Day.

We have got to start in a very polite way. And I grew up near Boston. I saw that on the rude list. I have got to say welcome and good morning to you.

WILLIAM HEENAN, PRESIDENT, STEEL ALLIANCE: Good morning, Kris. How are you this morning?

OSBORN: Very well. Yourself? Let me begin by asking about this. What were some of the reasons why these cities fared very, very poorly on the politeness front?

HEENAN: Well, on the politeness front, we looked at rude driving. And rude driving includes things such as stealing someone else's parking space in a mall, maybe flashing your headbeams at someone to get out of the way, and things of that nature. And what we are trying to do, really, is to make sure that people understand on this very highly driveable area -- era, that is the summer months, that people are more polite and less aggressive on the road.

OSBORN: Well, let's go from rude to polite. Where is the safest and politest place to drive a car?

HEENAN: Well, if you live if Seattle, you live in the safest and the most polite area. It's a place where, when we did the survey, we asked people what they thought aggressive acts were. And they told us that it was like driving 10 miles over a speed limit. It was changing lanes without signaling. It was running yellow lights. And in Seattle, they do the least of that.

OSBORN: So, is there something to a temperament out there on the West Coast? People just nicer or something about Seattle that makes it nicer?

HEENAN: Well, it is interesting. Seattle -- it was the first time we have done Seattle. However, it did come back that they seemed to be a little low-keyed when they are out on the roads and not as aggressive. As you said, growing up in Boston, it is a very aggressive area. And when you talk about rudeness, in Miami, it was the only place where women said they were more rude than men.

OSBORN: Let's hit, if we can, on some of the other aspects of aggressive driving. You mentioned a few of them. What are some of the other -- I don't know if you can call it road rage -- but what are some of the other less than polite things people do behind the wheel?

HEENAN: Well, some of the thing they do behind the wheel is what we call multi-tasking. And that is something that we used to traditionally do in the morning, that is drink coffee or maybe shave or put on lipstick as we went to work.

But now, we see more and more drivers doing things such as reading, using their laptops, their Palm pilots. And this takes their mind off the road. And what we are trying to do through this "Nerves of Steel" study is to really get the message out to be polite and courteous and to even take the pledge on our Web site so that you can win an emergency roadside kit. And that pledge site is www.thenewsteel.com.

OSBORN: And then lastly, Mr. Heenan, I wanted to ask you, we have been looking at full screens of the various things you describe. What about the most effective safety features in an automobile accident? How did you categorize those?

HEENAN: Well, what we did is we asked 2,000 licensed drivers what they felt were the most important things in the car. And the first thing was the seat belt. Now, let me remind everybody to buckle up no matter whether you're in the front seat or the back seat.

Then they said to them -- to us that the steel frame and side- impact steel beams were the three most effective things of protecting them and their family in a car. So as part of our "Nerves of Steel" survey, we really want to get the message out in this heavily driving period to slow down. It's OK to be late, and just be a polite and courteous driver on the road.

OSBORN: Very sage advice. William Heenan, sponsor of the annual "Nerves of Steel" report. Thank you very much. We'll have to pass along that kindness to be nice and wave hello to those you've run into on the road.

HEENAN: Thanks, Kris. And thanks for getting the message out.

OSBORN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com