Many American drivers believe they are safer behind the wheel than the people around them. While that confidence may seem reassuring, recent research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety presents a more complicated picture. The study found that 78% of drivers consider themselves safer drivers than others on the road.
The finding comes from AAA’s 2025 Traffic Safety Culture Index, released in 2026 after a nationally representative survey of 2,699 licensed U.S. drivers. The survey was conducted between July 31 and August 13, 2025, and included drivers age 16 and older who had driven at least once during the previous 30 days.
The finding stands out because 78% of drivers cannot all be significantly safer than everyone else. When nearly eight in ten motorists view themselves as better than average, it suggests a familiar psychological pattern. People may be more likely to notice risky behavior in other drivers than to recognize similar habits in themselves.
AAA’s research goes beyond that single statistic. It shows that drivers also rate their own skills and ability to manage distractions more favorably than those of other motorists. At the same time, many respondents admitted to behaviors that can increase crash risk.
That gap between how drivers see themselves and what they actually do is one of the most important findings in the latest research.
Most Drivers Believe They Are Safer Than Everyone Else
According to the AAA Foundation, 78% of surveyed drivers said they drive more safely than other drivers. Another 61% considered themselves more skillful behind the wheel, while 60% believed they handled distractions better than other motorists. The perception works in the opposite direction when drivers evaluate everyone else.
AAA found that 66% of respondents believed other drivers were more aggressive than they were. In other words, a large majority appears to place itself on the safer side of the driving population while assigning more dangerous behavior to the people sharing the road.
There is an important distinction here. The survey did not determine that 78% of American drivers are actually safer than average. It measured drivers’ perceptions of their own behavior compared with their peers.
That distinction matters because self-assessment can be influenced by how people remember their own driving.
A motorist may remember slowing down for a pedestrian, stopping at a yellow light, or allowing another vehicle to merge while paying less attention to the times they followed too closely, exceeded the speed limit, or glanced at their phone.
The AAA research found a particularly interesting relationship between perceived driving skill and risky behavior.
Drivers who viewed themselves as more skilled were more likely to report certain dangerous behaviors, including driving 15 mph above the freeway speed limit, running a red light when a safe stop was possible, making rapid lane changes or tailgating, driving without a seat belt, and using hands-free technology.
That does not mean every confident driver is reckless. Instead, the finding suggests that feeling highly capable behind the wheel may sometimes make people more comfortable taking risks.
A driver who believes excellent reflexes or experience will compensate for dangerous behavior may underestimate how quickly circumstances can change.
The Confidence Gap Becomes More Concerning When Drivers Admit Risky Habits
The 78% figure becomes more revealing when placed alongside the other findings in AAA’s study. Distracted driving is a clear example.
About 95% of drivers said scrolling through social media while driving was very dangerous. Ninety-three percent said the same about texting or emailing, while 91% considered reading something on a handheld phone highly dangerous.
Yet some drivers still reported engaging in these behaviors. AAA found that 10% had scrolled through social media while driving during the previous 30 days. Twenty-eight percent reported sending a text or email, and 38% said they had read a text or email while driving.
That creates another disconnect between attitudes and actions. Drivers clearly understand that using a phone can be dangerous. The problem is that recognizing the danger does not automatically prevent people from doing it.
Drowsy driving shows a similar pattern. Ninety-five percent of respondents considered drowsy driving very dangerous, yet 20% said they had engaged in it during the previous 30 days.
The same pattern appears with impaired driving. Ninety-three percent considered driving after drinking alcohol very dangerous, but 7% said they had done so during the previous 30 days. Driving within an hour of using marijuana was viewed as very or extremely dangerous by 71% of respondents, while 6% reported doing it.
These findings demonstrate why simply telling motorists that risky behavior is dangerous may not be enough.
People can understand the risk in principle while simultaneously convincing themselves that their own situation is different.
A driver might believe that a short phone glance is harmless, that fatigue has not yet reached a dangerous level, or that experience makes speeding manageable.
That is precisely where the perception of being a better-than-average driver can become problematic.
AAA’s findings do not establish that self-confidence directly causes crashes. They do, however, show that drivers who perceive themselves as especially skilled are more likely to report several behaviors that safety experts consider risky. Speeding is another major part of the problem.
In August 2026, the AAA Foundation separately reported that speeding has become normalized among many American drivers. Three in ten drivers agreed with the statement that “no one actually drives the speed limit,” while nearly half believed keeping up with traffic could be safer than following the posted limit.
AAA also cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data showing that speeding was a factor in nearly 30% of U.S. traffic fatalities in 2024.
That makes self-perception particularly important. If a driver believes they are more skilled than everyone else, they may also believe they can safely manage a speed or maneuver that would be dangerous for another motorist.
What the AAA Findings Say About Everyday Driving
The survey also provides an interesting picture of what motorists see happening around them.
Drivers reported frequently observing risky behavior in their own neighborhoods. Ninety-one percent said they saw other drivers going too fast on freeways, while 88% reported seeing people use cell phones while driving.
Eighty-six percent said they observed drivers traveling too fast on residential roads, and 81% reported aggressive driving such as weaving or close passing. At the same time, drivers reported seeing plenty of responsible behavior.
Eighty-eight percent said motorists commonly obey school-zone speed limits, while 87% observed drivers slowing in construction zones. Eighty-five percent reported seeing drivers adjust their speed in poor weather.
Ninety-one percent said they observed motorists taking extra care around pedestrians, and 87% reported seeing drivers exercise caution around cyclists.
The contrast helps explain why motorists may develop such strong opinions about other drivers.
When someone is driving safely, an aggressive maneuver by another motorist stands out immediately. The other driver becomes “the dangerous driver,” while the person making the judgment naturally sees their own behavior through a different lens.
But safe driving is not a permanent identity. Even an experienced and normally cautious motorist can speed, become distracted, drive while tired, or make an aggressive maneuver.
That is why the most useful lesson from the AAA study is not that American drivers are overly confident. It is that self-assessment can be unreliable. A person does not have to be an irresponsible driver to make a dangerous mistake.
The safest approach is therefore to judge individual driving decisions rather than assume that experience or skill automatically makes risky behavior acceptable.
AAA’s research also shows that drivers are generally capable of recognizing dangerous behavior. The overwhelming majority know that distracted driving, impaired driving, and drowsy driving are serious risks. The challenge is translating that understanding into consistent behavior.
The 78% figure represents more than just an interesting statistic. It points to a basic challenge in road safety. Most people can spot dangerous behavior in other drivers, but fewer may recognize when their own actions have become similarly risky.
The best driver is not necessarily the person who believes they are better than everyone else. It is the person who remains willing to question their own habits, maintain a safe speed, leave enough following distance, put the phone away, wear a seat belt, and recognize when fatigue or impairment makes driving unsafe.
AAA’s latest findings suggest that American motorists already know many of those rules. The harder part is applying them consistently, even when the driver behind the wheel believes they are one of the safest people on the road.
