Please don't shoot the messenger, but Suncorp Metway, Ltd., a multi-faceted Australian Financial Service, a few years ago ranked car accident claimants by sun sign in a study of 160,000 accident claims over a three year period. This is what they found.

The number one worst drivers were Geminis, "typically described as restless, easily bored and frustrated by things moving slowly," explained Warren Duke, Suncorp's national manager of personal insurance. "They had more car accidents than any other sign."

No astrologer would argue with that description of the twins sign! But what about the other signs?

According to a news release dated February 10, 2002 @ SUNCORP website, Duke said the study was carried out as part of Suncorp's annual review of claims but there was no intention to use astrology to factor an individual's motor insurance premium.

"We always look for trends in claims to see if there are ways to reduce our pricing, but there is no intention to introduce astrology as a rating factor for motor insurance," he said.

Second and third place holders for this dubious honor were Taurus and Pisces. "Taureans were thought to be obstinate and inflexible," said Duke, "while Pisceans could be risk-takers and dare devils."

Your personal astrologer would offer other explanations. First Taurus. Yes, Taureans can be obstinate and inflexible. But they are also the most introverted and self-absorbed of all the signs. Their natural path in life is to think about their own body -- its immediate comfort and needs -- and to deal with only the most tangible and immediate of realities.

Their thinking as drivers may run like this. My stomach is full, the temperature in the car is pretty good, the noise level is good, I'm riding right at 60, I don't have to use the bathroom for at least another hour and there's plenty of gas in the tank. At a very fundamental level, the world outside the chassis of their car may not exist at all.

Since freeway driving requires spatial perception and processing of much abstract information (speed, flow and distance, this is counter to their natural way of processing the world around them.

Pisces, in the number three position, is the other sign that lives in a world of its own. Duke describes them as potential risk takers and daredevils. However, there are other signs we would nominate much more readily for a description like this.

Pisceans are the gentle dreamers of the zodiac. They may spend many hours a day in fantasy worlds, escaping the painful realities of life on the physical plane and more often than not the pain of being in a physical body. They often experience the whole manifest world as an illusion and their presence in it as temporary and of little importance.

This Piscean detachment from the physical can lead to unconscious feelings of invulnerability or invincibility, also to unconscious feelings of victimization and sacrifice. If you are momentarily deluded into thinking you don't have physical limits, and that your life is but a fleeting moment in the eternal life of the soul, you can respond to situations of physical danger in illogical ways. Or, at the very least, be slow on the uptake.

Please don't take these descriptions as critical. The qualities of Taurus and Pisces are invaluable in their proper spheres of influence. Astrology is not a critical tool. It is a tool of enlightenment. Something you read here and become conscious about may save your life.

Duke continues, "Capricornians [sic], who came last on the list, [are] typically described as patient and careful."

No argument with that from the professional astrologer. It's no surprise Caps are the safest behind the wheel. They're the safest at everything! Their patience and sense of responsibility are legendary. Imagine the thrill I felt when I divorced my Gemini husband and began dating a Capricorn. I couldn't believe how much safer I felt in the passenger seat.

The great middle ground of this survey is held by sun signs in this order:

4. Virgo
5. Cancer
6. Aquarius
7. Aries
8. Leo
9. Libra
10. Sagittarius
11. Scorpio [and … Capricorn]

Is this what you would have expected? There's something else fascinating about this list.

The folks at SunCorp MetWay would have no way of knowing it but the signs in the tenth and eleventh positions are the exact opposites of those in first and second positions. This tells us a great deal about polarities, doesn't it? Scorpio is opposite Taurus and Sagittarius is opposite Gemini.

Sagittarians may stay safe in their cars the same way they do in life, by having highly developed neutral or higher minds (Ninth House). Another name of this mind is intuition. The highly developed sense of flow and good timing characteristic of Sagittarians is what makes them the lucky sign. Furthermore, their minds are right at home dealing with traffic patterns, flow and spatial relations.

Scorpios, on the other hand, may stay safe because they are intimately involved with the inner lives of others in the same way their opposite sign Taurus is defended against this information. Scorpios are sensitive to energy - whether it is a foot away or thousands of miles away -- and can feel someone "coming up from behind" at many different levels. Scorpios know if you've had a fight with your wife the night before or if you're thinking about embezzling or having an affair with your best friend's husband. That's why we always feel like they can see right through us. They can.

Scorpios would be the drivers who would instinctively "wake up" in time to let a cocaine addict pass them at 90 or give a wide berth to a passive aggressive soccer mom hassling two kids in the back seat and a phone conversation with her husband all at the same time.

Where does your sign fall in this survey? Whatever your sun sign, let's all learn from this survey and be safe on the road.

DRIVERS IN ORDER OF THE SURVEY FROM WORST TO BEST

1. Gemini May 21-June 21

2. Taurus April 20-May 20

3. Pisces February 19-March 20

4. Virgo August 23-September 22

5. Cancer June 22-July 22

6. Aquarius January 20-February 18

7. Aries March 21-April 19

8. Leo July 23-August 22

9. Libra, September 23-October 22

10. Sagittarius November 22-December 21

11. Scorpio October 23-November 21

12. And the winner is

Capricorn December 22-January 19

Bio: Nancy R. Fenn has been a fulltime professional astrologer for more than 25 years. She is a gifted and perceptive intuitive with the ability to help you create what you desire in life. Nancy is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition, but excludes none. Her profound, loving and practical spirituality combined with her serene presence as an iNFP Healer, has made a powerful difference in the lives of thousands around the world, one-by-one. Nancy dedicated her life to healing when she was 30.

An astrology reading with Nancy reveals information about hidden talents, spiritual life purpose, karma, challenges, esoteric resolution and more mundane matters such as the right relationship or career. Call 619.669.0605 for an appointment or for more information. You can also email Nancy.