TOPEKA, Kan. – A new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that young millennials are the riskiest drivers – but none of us are really setting a good example.
According to the study, almost 90 percent of young millennials – defined as those between the ages of 19-24 – engaged in at least one risky behavior behind the wheel in the past 30 days, earning the top spot of worst behaved drivers in the US.
These dangerous behaviors ― known to increase crash risk ― included texting while driving, speeding and running red-lights. In fact, 50 percent of the young millennials said they’d driven through a red light in the past month.
These findings, part of AAA’s annual Traffic Safety Culture Index, come as US traffic deaths jumped 7% in 2015 to more than 35,000 – the largest single-year increase in five decades.
Kansas had over 430 fatalities in 2016 which equals a 21% increase over the previous year.
For several years running now, the TSCI reveals a culture among US drivers of ‘do as I say, not as I do’. The same drivers who describe texting and other risky behavior as ‘unacceptable’, also admit to engaging in it.