2025 Traffic Safety Culture Index

Introduction

Although motor vehicle crash fatalities in the United States show a declining trend, road deaths remain high. Understanding the cultural context of driving, along with the personal factors that influence driving behavior, is essential for explaining why risky behaviors continue to contribute to tens of thousands of traffic fatalities each year.

The 2025 Traffic Safety Culture Index explores how drivers think about and engage with risk behind the wheel—examining perceptions and attitudes toward dangerous behaviors, self-reported behaviors, perceptions of safe and risky driving in their neighborhoods, how drivers assess their own behavior and abilities, and the role of social stress in shaping driving behavior.

Methodology

The 2025 TSCI survey used a probability-based sampling panel representative of the U.S. population to collect data between July 31 and August 13, 2025. Analyses were conducted based on weighted data that consisted of 2,699 licensed drivers aged 16 or older who completed the online survey and reported driving at least once in the 30 days prior to the survey.

Key Findings

Distracted Driving

• About 95% of drivers perceived scrolling through social media, 93% perceived texting or emailing, and 91% perceived reading on a hand-held phone as extremely or very dangerous. Despite these perceptions, 10% reported scrolling through social media, 28% reported sending a text or email, and 38% reported reading one while driving.
• Drivers predominantly agreed that people important to them would disapprove of distracted driving behaviors (85%–98% depending on the behavior).

Aggressive Driving Behaviors

• Most respondents perceived driving through a red light (78%) and aggressive driving (90%) as very or extremely dangerous.
• Fewer drivers perceived speeding as a dangerous activity. The speeding behaviors had the lowest perceived social disapproval of all the risky driving behaviors examined.

Drowsy Driving Behaviors

• Drivers predominantly perceived drowsy driving to be very or extremely dangerous (95%); however, 20% of drivers reported having engaged in the behavior in the past 30 days.

Impaired Driving Behaviors

• Drivers overwhelmingly perceived driving after drinking alcohol (93%) as very or extremely dangerous, and 63% believed such a driver would likely be apprehended by police. Only 7% of respondents reported having engaged in this behavior in the past 30 days.
• By comparison, only 71% of drivers felt driving (within an hour) after using marijuana to be very or extremely dangerous, and 26% believed such a driver would likely be apprehended by police. Only 6% of respondents reported having engaged in this behavior in the past 30 days.

Perceived Neighborhood Driving Behaviors

• Most drivers perceived frequent risky behaviors in their neighborhoods: 91% reported others driving too fast on freeways, 88% using cell phones while driving, 86% driving too fast on residential roads, and 81% engaging in aggressive driving (e.g., weaving or close passing).
• Drivers also observed common safe behaviors, including obeying school zone speed limits (88%), slowing in construction zones (87%), adjusting speed in poor weather (85%), taking extra care around pedestrians (91%), and exercising caution around cyclists (87%).

Comparisons with Peers

• Most drivers perceived themselves more favorably than others: 78% believed they drove more safely, 61% felt more skillful, 60% believed they handled distractions better, while 66% thought others were more aggressive. Speeding showed the strongest similarity with others, with about 50% reporting they drove similar speeds to other drivers, and 19% reporting they drove faster.
• Perceived higher driving skill was positively associated with several risky behaviors, including driving 15 mph over the freeway speed limit, running a red light when a safe stop was possible, rapid lane changes or tailgating, driving without a seatbelt, and using hands-free technology.

Perceived Social Stress

• Drivers with higher levels of social stress were more likely to report drowsy driving and driving without wearing a seatbelt.