Frequency and Pattern of Unsafe Driving
A continuation of Aggressive Driving
Part 2.8 Frequency and Pattern of
Unsafe Driving
Sure, you see plenty of people driving aggressively. Running red
lights, not stopping at stop signs, stuff like that, but how often do you do
it? In this part of the survey participants were asked to remember their
own mistakes over the past year.
71% said they remember going through an intersection while the light was yellow
and saw it turn red. Legal is you never saw red. 51% reported that they failed to come to a complete stop at a stop
sign. 26% said they had failed in the past week. 56% reported that they had driven 10 m.p.h. faster than the speed
limit. 12% tailgated. 8% made obscene comments or gestures to other drivers could see
or heard.
When comparing gender men were more likely to drive unsafe or aggressively
with exception to speeding where percentages were nearly identical. When
comparing age, behaviors were scored. Just like speeding the older you are
the safer driver you are more likely to become. Ages 16-20 scored a 149.5
while drivers over the age 35 had a score of 70.9 or less. The Unsafe
Driving Score was also defined by area within the United States. United
States average was 75.6. The highest ranked territory was the New England
Area with a score of 104.3. The lowest was Mountain/Northern Plains with a
score of 55.4
Summary from
this chapter was:
Within the past year, the majority of drivers have committed one or more unsafe driving actions. In the past month, over half of all drivers had entered an intersection just as the light was turning from yellow to red. In the past year, over half of all drivers have driven 10 miles per hour over the speed limit on an interstate highway, driven 10 miles per hour faster than most other vehicles were going, driven 10 miles per hour over the limit on a two lane rural road, or slowed but did not completely stop at a stop sign. By contrast, in the last year only one driver in ten or fewer raced another car, drove when affected by alcohol, used the shoulder to pass in heavy traffic, or passed in a no passing zone. While drivers considered weaving in and out of traffic as among the most dangerous unsafe driving behaviors, almost one-third said they had done this within the past year. The frequency of these unsafe driving behaviors tended to peak in the younger age groups and decreased with age.
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Information provided by National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
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