Are You A Safe Driver? AAA Survey Says Almost 60 Percent Of Drivers Say They Aren’t

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Risky driving is more the rule than the exception, results from a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveal. Only four in 10 drivers – 41.2 percent to be precise – fell into the “Safe Drivers” category.

This means that nearly 60 percent of those behind the wheel engage in risky driving behaviors. The annual “Traffic Safety Culture Index” survey pinpointed six driver profiles, which reported that 22.7 percent represented “Speeding Drivers.”

An additional 17.3 percent fell into the category of “Distracted and Aggressive Drivers,” while 15 percent were categorized as “Distracted Drivers.” But only 2.4 percent of all drivers were viewed as the “Most Dangerous Drivers,” with 1.3 percent judged as “Impaired Drivers.”

The TCSI sampled 2,499 licensed drivers in the United States between July 29 and Aug. 29, 2022. Some of the results released today are noteworthy:

• More women (57 percent) than men fell into the Safe Drivers group.
• Speeding Drivers reported driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit on freeways and/or 10 mph over the speed limit on residential streets.
• Roughly 93 percent of drivers identified both texting/emailing and reading on a hand-held phone while driving as very or extremely dangerous.
• More than a quarter of drivers (27 percent) admitted to texting or emailing while driving.

“Despite acknowledging the dangers, some drivers continue to engage in potentially deadly behaviors, particularly speeding,” said Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety president and executive director. “Understanding the different types of risky driving behaviors and the characteristics of drivers who engage in them is crucial for developing targeted interventions to achieve safe mobility.”