Traffic Safety Culture Index

Introduction

Unsafe driving behaviors including distracted, aggressive, and impaired driving contribute to a substantial proportion of motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and deaths on U.S. roads. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety seeks to guide drivers toward safer decisions. As such, data to quantify the prevalence of such behaviors as well as to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and characteristics of the driving population is vital. Every year since 2008, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has conducted the Traffic Safety Culture Index, a survey of the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of U.S. drivers.

Project Goal and Plan

The goal of this project is to generate in-depth knowledge on American’s perceptions of, attitudes toward, and engagement in unsafe driving behaviors. Each year, a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of over 3000 U.S. residents ages 16+ are invited to respond to an online survey. Participants are asked a series of questions about their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to issues including distracted driving, aggressive driving, drowsy driving, substance-impaired driving, and seatbelt use. An annual report summarizes major national-level results that identify relevant issues and highlight key traffic safety challenges; the data provide the foundation for numerous other topical studies as well.