The Allstate Foundation Teen Driving Program:
Changing the World of Driving

Teen Research

In 2005, The Allstate Foundation surveyed more than 1,000 teens (aged 15 to 17) to learn more about their driving attitudes, behaviors and misperceptions.

Critical survey findings:

• “Parents matter.” 89 percent of teens said their parents are influential in encouraging safer driving.
• “Friends can be foes.”  44 percent of teens said they drive more safely without friends in the car.
• “Tongue-tied teens.”  67 percent of teens have felt unsafe when someone else was driving, but only 45 percent said they would speak up about it.
• “I can handle distractions.” 56 percent said they make and answer phone calls while driving.
• “It’s them, not me.”  43 percent of teens labeled their own driving as “somewhat” or “very defensive,” yet 62 percent called their peers “somewhat” or “very aggressive.”
• “If I’m sober, I’m safe.”  More than half of teens inaccurately think most teen-related crashes are alcohol related.  In fact, alcohol is involved in less than 25 percent of deadly teen crashes.  Simple driver error and speeding cause most crashes.
• “Speeding is normal.” 55 percent of all teens surveyed said they sometimes exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph.

See the complete survey results at : (www.allstate.com/content/refresh-attachments/citizenship/chronic.pdf)