Have millennial drivers earned their bad reputation?

On Behalf of Johnston Law Offices P.C   |   Sep 30, 2018   |   Firm News ,

These days, millennials find themselves a frequent target of criticism, with many people across other age groups considering them entitled and lazy. While whether such criticisms are accurate is up for debate, there is at least one area in which millennial drivers have earned their poor reputation.

According to USA Today, millennial drivers are “highway hazards,” and while this is a common belief among older populations, there are also statistics to back it up. Just what are millennial drivers doing to endanger everyone else on the roadway?

Running red lights

While it is no secret that running red lights is incredibly dangerous, that has not seemed to stop millennial motorists from doing exactly that. The behavior is so common among drivers across this age group, in fact, that nearly half of all millennial drivers report doing it within the last 30 days. Meanwhile, only about 36 percent of drivers spanning other age groups acknowledged doing the same.

Texting and emailing

While anyone who sends texts or composes emails while behind the wheel of an automobile endangers everyone else on the road, millennial drivers are far more likely to do so than older motorists. In fact, millennials send electronic communications while driving nearly twice as much as other drivers, with nearly 60 percent of millennial motorists reporting that they had done so within the past 30 days.

Speeding through school zones

Today’s young drivers are also admitting to speeding through school zones at alarming rates. Almost 12 percent of drivers who fall within the millennial age range attest that they think it is acceptable to travel 10 mph or more over the posted speed limit within a school zone. As for drivers across other age groups, only about 5 percent admitted to feeling the same way.

As more and more millennial drivers take to the roadways, the risks of sharing the road with them will only compound. A clear need exists to shift millennial mindsets and attitudes with regard to driving to better protect the motoring public.