Millennials are the worst-behaved drivers on the road, study says

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11/CNS) - Young millennials are the worst-behaved drivers on the road, according to a study released Wednesday.

A whopping 88% of drivers between 19 and 24 years old reported they had recently engaged in at least one risky behavior behind the wheel such as texting, speeding or running red lights.

The study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 79% of drivers between ages 25-39 had engaged in a risky behavior, while 75.2% of drivers aged 40-59 acknowledged risky activity.

The best-behaved drivers were the youngest and oldest on the roads.

Among drivers aged 16-18, only 69.3% admitted a risky behavior behind the wheel along with 69.1% of drivers over 75.

"It's important for parents to model safe driving for novice drivers which builds a strong foundation for safe driving later on by millennials,'' said Anita Lorz Vilagrana, the Automobile Club of Southern California's
Community Programs & Traffic Safety manager. ``No parent wants to get the phone call or knock on the door that their young driver was a car crash victim due to poor driver behavior -- whether through their own or others' actions.''

David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said he found it alarming that some of the young millennials in the survey said they felt their behavior behind the wheel was ``acceptable.''

``It's critical that these drivers understand the potentially deadly consequences of engaging in these types of behaviors and they they change their behavior and attitudes in order to reverse the growing number of fatalities on U.S. roads,'' he said.

According to the study, drivers between 19-24 were 1.6 times as likely as all other drivers to admit reading a text message or email while driving, and they were nearly twice as likely to have typed or sent a text message or email
while behind the wheel.

Nearly 50% of drivers in that age group admitted they had driven through a light that had just turned red when they could have stopped safely, compared to 36% of all other drivers. Nearly 14% of young millennial drivers said they felt driving through the red light was an acceptable maneuver.

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