AAA: Young Millennials Are Worst Behaved Drivers In U.S.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)—A new report out by AAA reveals that young millennials earn the top spot for worst behaved drivers in the country.
According to the report, 88 percent of young millennials engaged in at least one risky behavior behind the wheel in the past 30 days, including texting while driving, red-light running and speeding.
"Alarmingly, some of the drivers ages 19-24 believe that their dangerous driving behavior is acceptable," said Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director. "It's critical that these drivers understand the potentially deadly consequences of engaging in these types of behaviors and that they change their behavior and attitudes in order to reverse the growing number of fatalities on U.S. roads."
The AAA says drivers ages 19-24 were 1.4 times as likely as all drivers to report having driven 10 mph over the speed limit on a residential street. Nearly 12 percent of drivers those drivers reported feeling that it is acceptable to drive 10 mph over the speed limit in a school zone, compared to less than 5 percent of all drivers.
The report also shows that drivers 19-24 were 1.6 times as likely as all drivers to report having read a text message or e-mail while driving in the last 30 days.
And when it came to running a red light: Nearly 50 percent of drivers ages 19-24 reported driving through a light that had just turned red when they could have stopped safely, compared to 36 percent of all drivers.
The survey results are part of the AAA Foundation's annual Traffic Safety Culture Index, in which 2,511 licensed drivers ages 16 and older were sampled.
