*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on USA Today.
Millennial drivers are the worst.
That’s not just their elders talking. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found 88% of drivers 19- to 24-years-old acknowledged engaging in risky behavior such as texting while driving, running red lights or speeding during the previous month, according to a new report.
The survey of 2,511 drivers from Aug. 25 through Sept. 6 by market research firm GfK found:
• Millennials acknowledged typing or sending a text or email while driving at nearly twice the rate of other drivers (59.3% to 31.4%).
• Nearly half of Millennials reported running a red light even if they could have stopped safely, compared with 36% of the rest of drivers.
• Nearly 12% of Millennials said it was acceptable to speed 10 mph over the speed limit in a school zone, compared with 5% of other drivers.
“Alarmingly, some of the drivers ages 19 to 24 believe that their dangerous driving behavior is acceptable,” said David Yang, the foundation’s executive director.
The findings come as driving is becoming more dangerous: The number of traffic deaths rose to 35,092 in 2015. That 7% increase from a year earlier was the largest one-year jump in five decades.
The survey also found drivers are hypocrites. Motorists told AAA that distracted, impaired and aggressive driving are unacceptable. Yet many drivers engaged in the same behaviors they had condemned.
Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/02/15/millennial-drivers-highway-hazards-survey-shows/97888336/
Ed note: While the article focused on millennials as the worst offenders when it comes to risky driving behaviors, no age group gets a free pass. A majority of drivers in all age groups reported engaging in risky driving behaviors.