Study Shows that Most Drivers "Feel Superior Behind the Wheel"
If you are like me, you can remember a lot more instances where some “idiot” almost ran you off the road or caused you to wreck than you can recall times that you were the “idiot” who almost ran over or into someone else’s vehicle. The good news is we are not alone in this method of thinking. The bad news is that we, like everyone else, tend to overestimate our own driving ability. A Canadian study recently found that every single one of the approximately 400 drivers surveyed rated themselves as above-average drivers.
The survey asked the drivers to rate how well they could drive in a number of different driving conditions, including adverse weather and heavy traffic. It also asked the drivers to indicate how they matched up against other drivers that were the same age, younger, older, or the opposite gender. The results were not terribly surprising, with young men being the most confident in their driving abilities and, as mentioned previously, everyone rating their own driving prowess at least above-average.
The article detailing the study points out one conclusion from the test that is of great interest in the personal injury law context. Scientists who analyzed the results concluded that most people tend to underestimate the risk they pose to others on the roadways while at the same time overestimating their own driving ability. This, scientists conclude, may encourage those people to behave less cautiously on the roads and not pay attention as well as they should. This idea is reinforced by the fact that young male drivers, who thought the most highly of themselves in the survey, have more accidents on the road than other drivers.
From a common sense standpoint it would seem to make sense as well. Many car accidents in TN are caused by drivers who believe they are skillful enough to control a vehicle while texting, talking on the phone, eating soup, or disciplining their kids. Unfortunately, many of those drivers find out the hard way that driving requires one’s full attention and focus, ending up as defendants in a personal injury suit stemming from an accident caused by their negligence.
