Driving Trends To Watch For In 2024

In 2023, a study of American drivers2023 11 Risky Business More Than Half Of All Drivers Engage In Dangerous Behavior Newsroom.aaa.com found that only 41.2% can be considered safe drivers. That means 58.8% of drivers are considered unsafe. WTH, America?

There are lots of different ways drivers are being unsafe. And many of those disappointing driving behaviors have made their way onto our list of driving trends to watch for in 2024. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some bright spots in the data as well.

Let’s look at the driving trends to watch for in 2024 (and how they affect you and yours).

Increased Anxiety Among Teen Drivers

Today’s teens are smart. And they know what’s going on in the world. They know that the odds of a crash are highest among inexperienced drivers. In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)Fatality Statistics Detail Teenagers Topics, the fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16 to 19-year-olds is nearly three times the rate for drivers ages 20 and over. No wonder these young drivers are anxious!

A 2023 Aceable Survey in California found that 73% of parents reported their teens being anxious about driving. A separate nationwide Aceable survey found that 83% of drivers who started driving during the pandemic era of 2020-2022 reported driving anxiety.

The good news is that there are multiple ways parents can help anxious teen driversFive Ways Parents Can Help Anxious New Drivers Blog including:

Acknowledging that their feelings are valid and can be used to create safer driving habits.
Teaching them to think like a driver, even while they’re riding shotgun.
Enrolling them in a driver’s ed programDrivers EdDrivers EdDrivers Ed, which has been shown to boost confidence and ease anxietyHow Much Difference Does Drivers Ed Really Make Blog.

Distractions, Distractions Everywhere

Every driver faces multiple distractions every time they get in the car:

Ew, I hate this song…better skip it…or maybe search for a better playlist.
What are those kids fighting about back there? I swear I will turn this car around!
I should have enough time at this stop sign to put on a little mascara.
Do I know that person? Let me just keep staring until I figure it out.
If I take really big bites, I can finish this burger before I pull into the parking lot.
Just need to check that notification on my phone real quick to see if it’s important.

Distracted driving is a serious problem. While the numbers are still being tallied for 2023, we saw a marked rise in distracted drivingDistracted Driving Year Review Blog from 2021 to 2022.

You might not be able to eliminate distractions, but you can reduce distractions while drivingEasy Ways To Reduce Distractions When Youre Driving Safe Driving. Set your playlist and navigation before putting the vehicle in drive. And for the love of all that’s good and holy, put your phone on Do Not Disturb.

(Over) Reliance on Technology

Smart tech features are making our cars saferHow Smart Car Features Keep You Safe Road Blog. Backup cameras, pedestrian detection, and auto emergency brakes can all prevent accidents. But a recent studyYour Smart Car Making You Worse Driver Blog found that they might also be making drivers more compliant behind the wheel. Just look at some of these stats:

61% of respondents said they were more comfortable briefly looking away from the road because of their car’s safety features.
58% of those with pedestrian detection admit they are less likely to manually check for pedestrians.
Half of drivers with drowsiness detection say they’re more likely to drive while tired because they have this feature.

The lesson here: take advantage of the tech-boosted safety features, but don’t expect them to do all the work for you. If you want to boost your driving skills, consider taking a defensive driving courseDefensive DrivingDefensive Driving in 2024.

Online Driver’s Ed Is On the Rise

The pandemic confirmed that driving principles can be taught in an online format. And nearly 30 states now allow online driver’s ed coursesThe State Of Drivers Education In 4 Charts 2023 01 Teaching Learning for state licensure. Additionally, innovative programs, like Texas’ Parent Taught Driver’s EdTexas Parent Taught Drivers Ed, have empowered parents to be involved in the process of making sure their teens are safe drivers.

To make the most of online driver’s ed in 2024, choose a program that uses learning science to create coursesLearning Science Behind Aceables Drivers Ed Course Blog. Aceable’s online driver’s ed coursesDrivers EdDrivers EdDrivers Ed, for example, offer benefits like:

Self-pacing. Take as much time as you need to get comfortable with the concepts.
Bite-sized lessons. Don’t burn yourself out on long, tedious chapters. Quick lessons are easier to digest.
Engaging content. Images, videos, games, and reviews help make the material memorable.

2023 Driving Trends Compared to 2024

In 2023, we saw more vehicles on the road with advanced tech-based safety features. And we’ve seen this trend continue into 2024. With proper use, these features can reduce accidents. Unfortunately, nearly 40% of tripsNews Room Back Road Safer Info.westerncentralny.aaa.com involve vehicles older than ten years, which lack the new safety features and may even be in poor mechanical condition. The good news is that, with each passing year, fewer of these outdated vehicles are on the road.

So far, 2024 has been a year of enacting policies to make roads safer. NHTSA finalized a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS 127Nhtsa Fmvss 127 Automatic Emergency Braking Reduce Crashes Press Releases) that will equip automatic emergency braking (AEB) on all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029. This is expected to save over 360 lives per year. Individual states are also passing safe-road legislation. California, for example, passed AB 645News And Media Dmv Highlights New Laws In 2024 Portal to add speed cameras to school zones and other high-risk areas to incentivize drivers to reduce their speeds. And Florida recently enacted the Move Over LawDriving Safety Move Over Safety Center, requiring drivers to move over to the second lane (when possible) when they come across any disabled vehicle or emergency vehicle on the side of the road.

Stay safe on the road. Enroll in your driver’s ed courseDrivers EdDrivers EdDrivers Ed or defensive driving courseDefensive DrivingDefensive Driving today!