Sharing the Road with Millennial Drivers

Millennial drivers often get a bad rap, but are the accusations of inattention, reckless behavior and rampant texting behind the wheel warranted? According to USA Today, today’s millennial drivers may, in fact, be as bad as many people say. So much so, in fact, that the publication reports that drivers between the ages of 19 and 24 are more likely to engage in dangerous driving behaviors than those across all other age groups.

Additionally, studies show that many millennial drivers may be hypocritical, meaning they acknowledge that certain driving behaviors are inherently dangerous, and yet they continue to do them, anyway. Just how are some millennial drivers unnecessarily endangering everyone on the roadway? Sure; texting is indeed part of the problem, but it appears there are numerous other areas in which millennial drivers in general could stand to show some improvement.

Risky behind-the-wheel behavior

According to a survey that followed nearly 2,500 millennial drivers, almost 60 percent of those within the age group admitted to texting or emailing someone while driving. Meanwhile, only about 31 percent of motorists spanning other age groups said they did the same.

Other motorists and pedestrians in school zones may also be wise to be wary of millennial drivers, as almost 12 percent of drivers within the age group believe it is acceptable to drive at speeds above 10 mph above the posted limit in school zones. Across all other age groups, only about 5 percent of motorists shared the same sentiment.

Running red lights is also a common practice among millennial motorists, with almost 50 percent of them admitting to running red lights even when they had the time and ability to safely stop beforehand. Meanwhile, less than 40 percent of drivers in other age groups admitted the same behavior.

Many safety advocates agree that more education is necessary about the consequences associated with these and other dangerous driving behaviors. There are limits to how much individuals can do to stay safe when sharing the road with millennial drivers who are engaging in dangerous behaviors.