Top Things Drivers are Doing That Threaten Traffic Safety

by ·

With motor vehicle deaths increasing substantially, the National Safety Council identified some of the top driver behaviors and beliefs that put all roadway users at risk and increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash. Compiled through NSC surveys conducted over the last 12 months, the alarming driver habits and opinions could help partially explain why deaths are rising and underscore the importance of raising awareness, particularly in April which is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

“Most Americans recognize risky drivers on the roadways, but they are not adopting safer behaviors themselves,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “The notion that bad things happen to other people, but will not happen to us when we are distracted behind the wheel, is akin to playing Russian roulette.”

Some of the top distressing things drivers do – or believe they can do – include:

•47 percent of drivers believe it is safe to send a text either manually or via voice-dictation systems.
•45 percent say they feel pressure from employers to check email while driving; however, 44 percent say they have crashed in the last three years while they were either commuting or traveling for business.
•35 percent of teens – a cohort that has seen an increase in fatal crashes – would use social media behind the wheel.
•17 percent of teens feel their own distraction may have contributed to a crash.
•71 percent believe they can have up to 3 drinks before they are not safe or too impaired to drive.
•33 percent believe it is acceptable to drive with less than four hours of sleep. In fact, drivers who are tired can be as impaired as drivers who are legally drunk.
•32 percent say new cars can essentially drive themselves.
•13 percent have driven after using marijuana in the last month.
•Two-thirds of drivers have felt unsafe because of another driver’s distraction, but just 25 percent feel their own distractions have put themselves or others at risk.

The Council observes Distracted Driving Awareness Month each April to remember the thousands lost each year to preventable crashes.

More Lifestyle News:

  1. National survey finds majority think self-driving cars will eliminate distracted driving A recent national survey commissioned by Erie Insurance, and conducted online by Harris Poll among nearly 3,000 licensed U.S. drivers, finds almost six in 10 (59 percent) think that self-driving cars will eliminate the problem of distracted driving. Two-thirds of...
  2. AutoAdvisory 2.0, Co-Pilot App to Defeat Distracted Driving Distracted driving due to phone use is the new impaired driving. As the summer road trip season begins, today Specific Range Solutions launches AutoAdvisory 2.0, a full-featured iPhone app that ensures drivers focus their attention where it belongs—on the road....
  3. Farmers Insurance Sends a Signal(SM) to Curb Distracted Driving Farmers Insurance®, one of the nation’s leading multiline insurer groups, today announced the launch of Signal℠, an innovative app which monitors distracted driving by providing ongoing feedback and analysis of driving habits, allowing the user to see when and where...
  4. Friday St. Patrick’s Day Means More DUIs Through the Weekend This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday, and newly released data indicates the day of the week could generate a surge in binge drinking and drunk driving this coming weekend. The data, from Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS), shows...
  5. Nine Minutes to Improving Opioid Safety: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Releases YouTube Video The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) has released a YouTube video which discusses in nine minutes how to improve opioid safety. The video features highlights from over 10 hours of in-depth interviews released by PPAHS in 2016; altogether,...
  6. Virtual Reality Can Help Drivers Understand the Question, “My Car Does What?” A new survey from the National Safety Council found 39 percent of drivers with new safety technologies in their vehicles say sometimes their vehicles act in ways that scare or surprise them. To help educate drivers and understand new vehicle...
  7. National Car Care Month: 3 ways aging drivers can see better at night Many drivers are less comfortable driving at night than during the daytime. Studies have shown that approximately 65 percent of accidents occur at night. Many of those accidents can be traced to inadequate lighting. Visual acuity, which is directly related...
  8. U.S. Drivers Score an Average “C” Rating on Safe Driving Skills The majority of drivers in the United States (92%) uses their phone while behind the wheel. That’s according to the data released today from EverQuote, Inc., the leading online insurance marketplace in the U.S. matching drivers with insurance providers based...
  9. Boating Safety Tips U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in more than three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2016, and that 83 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets The National Safe Boating...
  10. Shine Bright! Be a School Safety Star! Backpacks, books, pencils and pens, get ready because it’s back to school time, again! Whether your child walks, rides their bike or rides in a car or bus to school, safety should be priority number one! A  child can be...