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The foundation conducted its annual survey of drivers about their habits behind the wheel and found that American drivers are addicted to speeding, increasing the odds of dying in a crash.
The survey polls drivers about their habits behind the wheel. This year, drivers were grouped into six categories by analyzing patterns of self-reported risky driving behaviors, and just over 4 in 10 respondents were classified as “Safe Drivers.” The remaining drivers admitted to engaging in a variety of unsafe actions in the past 30 days, led by speeding, aggressive driving, and distracted driving.
The findings for speeding were particularly alarming, given that in 2021 (the latest year of federal data), 29 percent of fatal crashes nationwide and 40 percent of fatal crashes in Connecticut were speeding-related.
According to the report, compared with other violations:
- Fewer drivers perceive speeding as dangerous
- Fewer drivers think that people close to them would disapprove of speeding
- More drivers admit to engaging in speeding
"Americans continue to put themselves—and others on the road—in needless danger by speeding,” said Mark Schieldrop, AAA Northeast senior spokesperson. “Alarmingly, relatively few people view speeding as dangerous despite decades of evidence that shows faster speeds lead to more crashes, more deaths, and more severe injuries.”
It is worth noting that a motorist’s need for speed consistently fails to deliver shorter travel times. If drivers increase their speed to 80 mph from 75 mph, they would have to travel 100 miles with no traffic just to shave just 5 minutes off their trip, AAA said.
According to the new Traffic Safety Culture Index report, the profiles identified included:
- Safe Drivers (41.2 percent) - Few in this group reported engaging in risky driving-related behaviors; women comprised the majority (57 percent) of the safe drivers group.
- Speeding Drivers (22.7 percent) - These drivers reported driving 15mph over the speed limit on freeways and/or 10 mph over on residential streets but did not engage in most other dangerous behaviors.
- Distracted and Aggressive Drivers (17.3 percent) – These drivers reported distracted driving behaviors (e.g., texting while driving), speeding, and aggressive behaviors, such as red-light running and switching lanes quickly.
- Distracted Drivers (15.0 percent) – These drivers reported distracted driving behaviors such as reading text messages and texting while driving.
- Most Dangerous Drivers (2.4 percent) - While these drivers consisted of only a small percentage of the drivers, they pose a serious risk to themselves and other road users as they reported engaging in all risky driving-related behaviors.
- Impaired Drivers (1.3 percent) – Most of these live in non-metropolitan areas.
The survey also asked drivers about their perceived level of danger for various driving behaviors. With the exception of speeding, most drivers perceived unsafe driving behaviors as very or extremely dangerous, and yet, as in past years, many admitted to doing these behaviors at least once in the previous 30 days.
What you can do? Slow down, put down the phone, and pay attention to the road.
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