Editor’s Note: This blog was previously published on April 2021 and has been updated for accuracy – May 2025.
You might think you’re not guilty of risky driving behaviors—but the statistics suggest otherwise. Even if you recognize and disapprove of these dangers in others, you may still be engaging in them yourself.
According to the latest Traffic Safety Culture Index from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, most drivers strongly believe that behaviors like distracted driving, speeding, and tailgating are dangerous. They also assume their friends and family disapprove of these actions. Yet, many admit to doing them anyway, despite acknowledging the risks.
Dangerous Driving by the Numbers
AAA surveyed thousands of drivers about their attitudes, assumptions, and actions. Here’s what they learned about some of the most common types of risky driving behaviors.
Fatigued Driving
Driving while struggling to keep your eyes open is a serious danger—96% of survey respondents agreed, calling it extremely or very dangerous. And they’re right. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving contributes to over 90,000 crashes each year, causing tens of thousands of injuries and hundreds of fatalities—693 in 2022 alone.
Despite the risks, 20% of drivers admitted to driving while dangerously tired at least once in the past 30 days, with a small percentage doing so regularly or fairly often. Yet, only about 3 in 10 believed they would be caught by police for drowsy driving. This highlights a significant gap between awareness and action—one that’s even wider for certain other risky driving behaviors.
Texting and Driving
Most drivers recognize the dangers of using a phone while driving—94.3% consider reading a text or email extremely or very dangerous. Fewer see the same level of risk in holding and talking on a phone (78%) or using hands-free technology (16%). The vast majority also believe their friends and family would disapprove.
Despite this awareness, many drivers admitted to engaging in these behaviors in the past 30 days:
- 27% sent a text or email
- 37% read one
- 36% held and talked on a phone
- 59% used hands-free technology to talk, text, or email while driving
There’s also a divide in public support for legal restrictions. While 8 in 10 drivers support a law against holding and talking on a phone while driving, only 42% back a ban on using hands-free technology for texting or emailing.
Running Red Lights
In 2022 alone, 1,149 people lost their lives and over 100,000 were injured in crashes caused by red-light running, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). These figures mark a 4% increase from 2021 and a staggering 22% rise since 2017.
Most drivers acknowledge the risks—81% of survey respondents consider running a red light extremely dangerous. Yet, despite this awareness, the numbers continue to climb.
Practicing What You Preach on the Road
While the exact percentages vary, a significant number of drivers who recognize certain behaviors as dangerous still admit to engaging in them. In addition to the actions described above, many drivers who acknowledge these behaviors as very or extremely dangerous have admitted to:
- Holding and talking on a cell phone while driving
- Aggressively changing lanes or tailgating
- Driven when they thought they might be over the legal limit for blood alcohol content
When including those who consider these actions moderately or slightly dangerous, the list expands to include:
- Driving with an hour of having used marijuana
- Driving after taking a potentially-impairing prescription drug
In other words, most of us know what it takes to stay safe on the road and protect ourselves and others—but too many of us aren’t doing it.
When Negligence Puts You at Risk, You Have Legal Options
If you’ve been injured by a driver who negligently disregarded safety, you may be entitled to compensation.
Atlanta attorney ReShea Balams fights for maximum compensation for victims of motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall injuries, premises liability, and more. The Balams Firm offers free, no-obligation consultations so injury victims can get the information they need to make informed decisions during difficult times.
Schedule yours today by calling (404) 445-2005 or filling out the contact form on this page.
