InlandEmpireNissan.com_AAA Aggressive Driving Research Update

At Metro Nissan Redlands we care about your safety. Please drive safe.


AAA Foundation

• Established in 1947

• 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit

• Research affiliate of AAA/CAA

• North American Focus


Mission

• Identify traffic safety problems

• Foster research that seeks solutions

• Disseminate information and

educational resources


Funded through the generosity of

and its members


The Situation

• Americans are concerned about aggressive driving and

its impact on traffic safety

• A 2005 telephone survey by ABC News and The

Washington Post found that out of a list of threats which

“most endanger your own safety on the road,” 32% of

respondents said aggressive drivers. This was the same

number of responses as for drunk drivers.


The Situation (cont.)

• 2008 AAAFTS Traffic Safety Culture Index found

78% of those surveyed rated aggressive drivers as

a serious or extremely serious traffic safety

problem

• Despite those concerns, nearly half of people

admitted to speeding more than 15mph over the

limit on major highways in the previous 30 days

reflecting a “Do As I say, Not As I Do” attitude.


Defining Aggressive Driving

• Tasca (2000) – “A driving behavior is aggressive if it is

deliberate, likley to increase the risk of collision and is

motivated by impatience, annoyance, hostility, and/or an

attempt to save time.”

• NHTSA – “When individuals commit a combination of

moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons

property”


AAAFTS Definition of

Aggressive Driving

“Any unsafe driving behavior, performed

deliberately and with ill–intention or disregard

for safety, can constitute aggressive driving.”


Our Analysis

• Analyzed NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System

(FARS) database

• FARS provides detailed information from police reports

on all fatal crashes

• Analyzed the role of aggression by looking at each

crash’s contributing factors related to driver behavior

and performance

• Existing sources of data on crashes do not include

information about the intentions or motivations of the

driver so our estimate of the prevalence of aggressive

driving relied on drivers’ actions


Potential Aggressive Driving Acts

(FARS List)

• Following improperly

• Illegal Lane Changes

• Illegal driving on road shoulder, ditch, sidewalk..etc

• Passing regardless of posted traffic signs and road

markings

• Operating vehicle in reckless manner

• Failure to yield or obey traffic signs, devices, or zone laws

• Failure to signal

• Driving too fast for conditions or above posted speed limit

• Racing


Percent of fatal crashes involving possibly-

aggressive driver-level contributing factors, FARS

2003-2007

30.7%

11.4%

7.4%

6.6%

4.1%

1.7%

1.5%

1.4%

0.5%

0.3%

0.1%

0.1%

Speeding (over limit or too fast for conditions)

Failure to yield right of way

Reckless / Careless / Erratic Driving

Failure to obey traffic signs, traffic control devices, etc.

Making improper turn

Improper passing

Improper following

Improper or erratic lane changing

Illegal driving on shoulder, ditch, sidewalk, or median

Racing

Failure to observe warnings or instructions on vehicle

Failure to signal


Key Points

• Surveys show people are concerned about aggressive driving

• 2008 AAAFTS study found 78% rated aggressive driving

as a serious or extremely serious problem

• As many as 56% of the fatal crashes involve one or more

unsafe driving behavior typically associated with aggressive

driving

• Speeding was a contributing factor in over 13,500 deaths in

2006

• AAAFTS 2008 Traffic Safety Culture Index found nearly

half of drivers reporting exceeding the speed limit by

15mph on major highways in the previous 30 days


To view the full aggressive driving

report or press release, please visit

www.aaafoundation.org

http://www.aaafoundation.org/


To learn more about driving safe and

choosing a protective automobile, visit

http://metronissan.ning.com/

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InlandEmpireNissan.com_AAA Aggressive Driving Research Update