More drivers are engaging in risky behaviors like speeding or driving under the influence following three years of steady declines, according to a study released this month from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
The dangerous behaviors, detailed in the study that covers the years 2020 and 2021 and released this month, include speeding, running red lights, and driving either while tired or impaired from the use of marijuana or alcohol, according to the study, including 24% of drivers who admitted getting behind the wheel after drinking, even though they believed they were over the legal limit.
"The reversal in the frequency of U.S. drivers engaging in risky driving behavior is disturbing," said Mark Jenkins, Public Relations Manager for AAA – The Auto Club Group. "While drivers acknowledge that certain activities like speeding and driving impaired are not safe, many engage in these activities anyway. This reckless attitude can be life-altering."
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that fatal motor vehicle crashes are on the rise, with 42,915 people dying in traffic accidents in 2021, a 10.5% increase from 38,824 fatal crashes in 2020.
Dangerous driving behaviors like speeding, driving while impaired by alcohol, and failure to use seat belts accounted for most of the increase, the NHTSA reports.
"Traffic patterns have largely normalized since the start of the pandemic, yet traffic fatalities are at their highest level in nearly two decades," Jenkins said. "We can reverse this trend if drivers slow down, avoid distractions, and never drive impaired."
According to reports from drivers, admitted risky behaviors climbed across the board between 2020 and 2021:
- Driving 15 mph over the speed limit: 45.1% in 2020; 50.7% in 2021.
- Driving while holding and talking on a cell phone: 37.2% in 2020; 37.4% in 2021.
- Driving while reading a text or email on a cell phone: 33.9% in 2020; 36.2% in 2021.
- Driving through a red light: 25.6% in 2020; 28.2% in 2021.
- Driving aggressively by switching lanes quickly or very closely behind another car: 21.3% in 2020; 22.9% in 2021.
- Driving when so tired it was hard to keep eyes open: 17.3% in 2020; 18.8% in 2021.
- Driving while believing they were over the legal limit for alcohol: 5.9% in 2020; 7.3% in 2021.
- Driving within an hour of consuming cannabis or marijuana: 4.4% in 2020; 5% in 2021.
AAA suggests that drivers be prepared in the event of a crash, including keeping an emergency kit with first aid and roadside visibility items in their cars; keeping proof of insurance in their cars and on their phones; knowing what to do if a crash occurs; and slowing down and moving over a lane when passing an accident or disabled vehicle.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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