By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has some new statistics on aggressive driving that are worth mentioning.
"Regardless of gender, nearly eight in ten American drivers demonstrate aggressive behaviors when behind the wheel," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "Speeding tops the list, with men being the biggest culprits, although women are not far behind in that category."
Let's be clear, AAA asked drivers if they went 15 miles per hour or more above the speed limit. This isn't accidentally setting things too high. It doesn't really save you much time, though.
"Contrary to common perception, speeding does not really save a lot of time on the roads in most cases," Steward said. "The average amount saved in a five mile trip, for example, if you're driving 65 miles an hour in a 45 mile an hour zone, you're only saving 1.9 minutes."
Another situation where you may think you are saving time, but you could cost yourself much more is driving distracted.
"Far too many people are using their phones while they are driving," Steward said. "Those should be down in your console or out of reach. If you're looking at your phone and someone does pull out in front of you, whether they are driving aggressively or just inattentively or whatever the case might be, if you're looking down at your phone, you're not going to see that."
For more information on distracted driving, go to aaa.com.