Aggressive Driving Behavor Negatively Impacts Fellow Drivers: Survey

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A new driving survey from Safeco Insurance reveals 36 percent of respondents admitted to driving aggressively, while 85 percent describe others’ driving as aggressive.

The good news is that 72 percent of those surveyed said they’d be willing to make at least one change to their own behavior to make driving a more pleasant experience for others on the road. To answer that call, Safeco is launching “Drive It Forward Fridays” (#DIFF) to encourage positive driving actions to counter negative driving behavior that can often jeopardize safety.

Starting next week, Safeco will ask drivers to participate in “Drive It Forward Fridays.” To take part in the movement, drivers can visit www.safeco.com/diff or use the hashtag #DIFF to pledge to be a more courteous driver and share their positive driving actions.

What actions did survey respondents say, if stopped, would help make driving more pleasant?

Cutting off other drivers (59 percent)

Using high beams toward oncoming traffic (57 percent)

Tailgating (56 percent)

Additional findings from the study reveal a complete lack of road manners in surprising situations. More than one-third (37 percent) of those surveyed have watched other drivers cut a funeral line; more than half (54 percent) have seen able-bodied drivers take handicap spots; and 42 percent report seeing other drivers cut off a school bus.

The survey also highlighted regional differences showing who owns up to bad behavior:

Boston drivers ranked number one among drivers surveyed who admit to being aggressive behind the wheel (46 percent), followed by New York and Los Angeles both at 38 percent.

Denver drivers rank lowest in reporting their own aggressive driving (26 percent).

About the Study

Safeco Insurance commissioned ORC International to conduct a quantitative methodology to measure driving etiquette in ten geographies across the United States in April 2014. The study included a survey of 2,006 drivers aged 18+ in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, and Atlanta. Overall the findings from the study can be interpreted at a 95 percent confidence interval with an error margin of +/- 1.96 percent. Error margins for subsets such as by market will be wider.

Source: Safeco Insurance

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