93% of American drivers surveyed said they are better drivers than average. When AAA probed further about their specific driving habits over the previous 30 days they found 58.8% admitted to being unsafe drivers. The AAA uses statistics to analyze the most common “risky” behaviors that drivers would admit to. Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety President and Executive Director said, “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.”
So here’s how the drivers surveyed by the AAA‘s nonprofit fit into various risky driver categories.
- 42.1% Safe Drivers
- 22.7% Speeding
- 17.3% Distracted And Aggressive Driving
- 15.0% Distracted Driving
- 2,4% Most Dangerous Driving
- 1.3% Impaired Driving
Some of these categories are self-explanatory. Distracted drivers admitted to behaviors such as reading text messages and texting while driving. The aggressive version also switched lanes rapidly or run red lights. The “Most Dangerous Drivers” category is made of the 2.4% of surveyed drivers who admit to all of the risky behaviors listed.
Many drivers and likely more than the 22.7% of drivers reported have exceeded the speed limit in the past 30 days and it’s likely that more than 32.3% of drivers have glanced at their phone while behind the wheel during the past 30 days. Considering statistics that DUIs make up 10% of all arrests it can reasonably said that the claim that only 1.3% of drivers have recently operated a vehicle while impaired might be overly optimistic.
Keep in mind that these are the numbers of drivers that admitted to risky behaviors for AAA’s survey. A better question might be how many risky drivers deny driving in what would be considered an unsafe manner? They might also admit to “lesser” mistakes such as glancing at their phone before admitting to driving under the influence.
So while 93% of drivers can’t statistically be “better than average,” 93% could be in some way unsafe. Why do most of us think we are better than the average driver? I expect it’s because we all notice the one car weaving between lanes, they take up a lot of our mental space, and the rest of us think “At least I’m not that guy.” Don’t be that driver!
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