‘Do as I Say, Not as I Do’ – Motorists Recognize Dangers But do Little to Alter Behaviors, Says AAA Foundation

lpd traffic safety speed laserToo many Americans, including New Jerseyans, report that they regularly speed, run red lights, use distracting devices or drive drowsy, despite the fact that one in three have a loved one who has been seriously injured or killed in a crash, according to the AAA Foundation’s latest Traffic Safety Culture Index. The results further find that unsafe behaviors persist even though one in five drivers nationwide, and 24 percent of New Jersey drivers, have themselves been involved in a serious crash in the past two years.

“It is discouraging that we continue to see a prevailing attitude of ‘do as I say, not as I do,’ where large numbers of motorists seem to understand the risks of certain behaviors but do them anyway,” said Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Improving the safety culture in society must begin with each individual.”

These most recent findings from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s annual survey that assesses and benchmarks the attitudes and behaviors of drivers revealed that the prevalence of unsafe driving behaviors during the previous 30 days are widespread nationwide and in New Jersey, including:

Red light running:

· Nationwide: More than a third (36 percent) of drivers admit to running red lights, yet 94 percent say it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

· New Jersey: In New Jersey 37 percent of drivers admit to running red lights; even though 95 percent of drivers believe it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

Speeding (10+ mph) on residential streets:

· Nationwide: Nearly half of drivers report speeding (44 percent), yet 90 percent say it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

· New Jersey: A higher percentage of New Jersey drivers are driving more than 10 miles per hour on residential streets compared to drivers nationwide. More than half of New Jersey drivers (58 percent) report speeding, yet a lower percentage of State drivers, 84 percent, compared to drivers nationwide say it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

Drowsy driving:

· Nationwide: Approximately three in 10 drivers (29 percent) admitted to drowsy driving, yet 96 percent believe it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

· New Jersey: A higher percentage of State drivers, 35 percent, said they drove drowsy compared to drivers nationwide, and 98 percent of New Jersey drivers believe it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

Texting/emailing:

· Nationwide: More than a quarter (27 percent) of drivers report typing or sending a text or email, yet 96 percent of drivers say it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

· New Jersey: A higher percentage of State drivers, 30 percent, compared to nationwide drivers, admitted to typing or sending a text or email; and, compared to drivers across the U.S., a higher percentage of New Jersey drivers, 98 percent, believed it is somewhat or completely unacceptable behavior.

When it comes to specific distracted driving behaviors in the past 30 days, nationwide:

· 2 in 3 drivers reported talking on their cell phone

· 1 in 3 drivers reported talking on their cell phone often

· 1 in 3 drivers admit to reading a text message or email

The findings also offered insight about drivers’ attitudes related to cognitive distraction. Two out of three drivers nationwide believe hands-free phone use is acceptable, and nearly half (46 percent) of drivers who report using speech-based in-vehicle systems say they do not believe these systems are at all distracting. These results are prevalent despite extensive research indicating that hands-free devices can lead to cognitive distraction.

“Despite the growing body of research that supports the possible dangers of using hands-free technologies, most drivers don’t understand the risks and continue to use these technologies,” said Noble. “The good news is that we all have the ability to make safer choices, and can personally improve our safety while driving.”

[TLS]

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6 COMMENTS

  1. welcome to the generation of instant -gradification & self centeredness. where everything is me, me & only me, if its not good for me then i can’t help or watch even my own wife or children.

    i tell you its really sad that the situation has to get so bad. & the only way for people to learn from others mistakes & be more alert in life etc…. is for us to FACE REALITY & do something about it. before it happens again C’V

    i.e. how many thousands of accidents have occurred because of texting & driving? or not wearing a reflector at night? why have we not learnt from these tragedies to stop texting? the situation has gotten so bad to the point that if C”V someone heard that his neighbor/friend got into a MVA caused by texting we still wont learn from it. so what are we all doing? a person is C”V putting a klala on himself by telling hashem ha ha you can’t get me to stop texting unless you make something happen to me C”V

    how sad but true it is, why can’t we face reality & do something about it when any issue arises, instead of learning from it after its too late & something happpened already C”V?

  2. Talk till you are blue in the face. All the stats mean nothing. Serious traffic enforcement is the answer. Unfortunetly we need more police manpower to do that. All the people know this . Guess what the problem will not get better. Any one of us can stand at stop light or stop street and observe the numerous infractions taking place. Sickening site to watch.

  3. So what are the Police doing about it? Nothing ! If police would just stop people who are on their cell phones they would supply the whole yearly budget of the police force in 3 months!

  4. Yehuda take a few deep breaths. I personally witness so much on a daily basis it is crazy. Even worst sometimes is the mentality. We live in a development and every morning the “crazy bus” comes zooming through. Driver smiles even after we have stopped the bus. A few have called the bus company and their response was “it’s a police problem call them” ! I hope some drivers read this.

  5. To # 1….you should have LEARNED that the word is LEARNED not Learnt…hope this helps and you LEARNED the proper way to use the word….lol….have a nice day

Comments are closed.