Millennial drivers are behaving badly on U.S. roads, a trend that could be contributing to a spike in highway deaths, according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
In 2015, U.S. traffic deaths rose 7 percent to 35,092, the largest single-year increase in five decades. They’re expected to rise again in 2016 when that data is finalized.
The study found that more than three-quarters of drivers said it was unacceptable to text or email while driving, but 31 percent had done so in the last month and 8 percent do so often. Ninety-six percent of drivers said drowsy driving is a serious safety threat, but 29 percent had recently driven when they were so tired they had trouble keeping their eyes open.
The study questioned 2,511 licensed drivers aged 16 and over. Here are the findings:
- The youngest drivers — those ages 16 to 18 — were less likely to engage in speeding, running red lights or texting while driving than drivers in their 20s through 50s.
- Eighty-three percent of drivers — and 86.5 percent of drivers 75 or older — said they were more careful than other drivers on the road.
- Just over half of drivers feel seriously threatened by drivers talking on cell phones, but 68 percent made a call while driving in the last 30 days.
- Drivers ages 40-59 were the most likely to use a hands-free phone in the car. Drivers ages 16-18 and 75 or older were the most likely to hold their phones and talk while driving.
- Twenty-three percent of drivers — and 36 percent of those ages 19 to 24 — think it’s acceptable to drive 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway. Forty-six percent of drivers say they have driven that fast on a freeway in the last 30 days.
- Sixty percent of drivers say people who drive after using illegal drugs are a serious threat, but just 34 percent say the same about people who drive after using prescription drugs.
Distracted driving is dangerous. All of us drivers should remember this every time we get behind the wheel of a car. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, nine people are killed in the United States everyday in accidents connected to distracted driving and an additional 1,153 are injured.
Texting, tweeting, eating, drinking, and all other distracted driving behaviors should be avoided while driving. Focusing on the road should be your number one priority. If you were injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a distracted driver, our Tampa Bay Auto Accident Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you recover financial compensation to help cover the costs associated with the crash.
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