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How Safe Do You Drive?
AAA Promotes New Safe Driver Campaign

Did you know:

A clear majority of all drivers (71 percent), even seniors, speed, and most believe it¹s all right to routinely exceed the speed limit by 5 mph. Nearly, one in three men believe it is all right to exceed the speed limit by 10 mph.
Most drivers engage in one or more other activities while driving. Fifty-nine percent of drivers say they eat while they drive; 37 percent admit to talking on a cell phone while driving; 14 percent read while driving.

According to Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, people worry about a lot of things, but they don¹t worry enough about their own driving habits. Throughout our life span, says Johnson, "there are important and different safety issues. If we¹re aware of them, we can compensate and be safer drivers,"

Partnering with the National Association of Police Organizations, Volvo Cars of America, Partners for Highway Safety, and others, the American Automobile Association (AAA) is promoting a safer driving habits campaign called "Drive for Life: The National Safe Driving Test & Initiative." Law enforcement and education groups have joined forces to get the message out to the public that "Safety requires three things: safe cars, safe roads and safe drivers."

The focus of the "Drive for Life" campaign has been on making cars and roads safer. Because driving is a complex task and many of us have poor driving habits, the project will provide opportunities for Americans to reassess their driving knowledge through several media, including:

An interactive web site (http://www.safedrivingtest.com), where visitors can, among other things, brush up on safe driving practices with a quick test, take a driving personality quiz and learn about keys to safe driving;
A 30-minute national television special, scheduled to air this summer and in public schools. The TV special tests viewers¹ knowledge of safe driving practices and encourages drivers of all ages to be more alert, attentive drivers;
A renewed national focus on improving drivers¹ skills, decision-making and awareness.

A national poll commissioned by "Drive for Life" and conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc., revealed that drivers themselves, more than traffic conditions or vehicles, are the greatest safety threat on the road. American drivers admit they knowingly and routinely engage in careless driving behavior and dangerous driving practices. The poll also revealed that it is the harried, distracted drivers in the middle (ages 26-44 years) who admit to the most dangerous driving habits.

According to the Mason-Dixon findings, every driver has engaged in a risk behavior at least once in the past six months. In fact, notes Brad Coker, director of the national poll, "more than 90 percent nationwide freely admitted it."

The Mason-Dixon poll also found that Americans believe cars are safer (81 percent of those polled), but drivers are more dangerous. Of those polled, 57 percent said roads are safer, but only 27 percent said that drivers are safer than in the past.

The same behaviors poll respondents admitted to are among the top reasons cited by experts for traffic crashes and fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studies suggest that driver inattention is a primary or contributing factor in 50 percent of all crashes.

To find out more about the "Drive for Life" Initiative Challenges, and to test your own safe driving skills, go the Web site: http://www.safedrivingtest.com.