More Than Half of All Deadly Crashes
Result from Aggressive Driving
As many as 56 percent of deadly
vehicle crashes involve one or more
unsafe driving behaviors typically
associated with aggressive
driving, according to a new
analysis released in April 2009
by the AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety. The analysis of
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration data shows
speeding is the most common
factor and is involved in nearly
one in three deadly crashes.
Aggressive driving is one of America’s
main traffic safety worries. Last year’s
AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture
Index, a nationally-representative
telephone survey, found nearly eight
out of every 10 people surveyed rated
aggressive drivers as a serious or
extremely serious traffic safety problem.
However, in the same survey, many
individuals reported driving in ways
that could be deemed aggressive. For
example, nearly half of drivers reported
exceeding the speed limit by 15 mph on major highways in the past 30 days, and
15 percent even admitted exceeding the
speed limit by 15 mph on neighborhood
streets. This reflects the “Do as I Say,
Not as I Do” attitude society has toward traffic safety.
“It’s easy to think ‘that other guy is the
problem’ – the one who runs someone off
the road, tailgates, or yells obscenities,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO
Peter Kissinger. “In reality, examples of driving aggressively – any of which can
lead to crashes, injuries and deaths– are all too common.”
Such examples of aggressive driving
include running stopsigns or red lights,
preventing other drivers from passing,
speeding, illegal driving on the shoulder,
and failing to yield. The goal in releasing these findings is to educate
motorists about the scope
of aggressive driving as well
as encourage motorists to
reevaluate their own driving
behavior, and ultimately to
improve this country’s traffic safety culture.
“If you find yourself driving
slowly in the passing lane, tailgating,
or doing other things to teach the other
driver a lesson, you are also part of the
problem,” said Kissinger. “An aggressive
driving act by one driver can trigger a
disproportionate and potentially violent
reaction from another driver.”
