The Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at the University of California, Berkeley has released the California Traffic Safety Survey 2024. The study was led by Ewald & Wasserman Research Consultants (E&W) and conducted on behalf of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and UC Berkeley SafeTREC.
The California Traffic Safety Survey has been conducted annually since 2010, and this year's survey was conducted online in all California counties for a total of 2,507 respondents, with the majority of those surveyed (57.9% weighted) coming from Southern California and falling within the 18-44 age range.
Over 25 questions were created to address a variety of topics concerning road safety, including distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, statewide safety campaigns, and driverless vehicles. First introduced to the California Traffic Safety Survey in 2022, respondents were also asked to rate five elements of increasing road safety that comprises the Safe System approach.
Dangers of speeding
For the eighth year since the survey was first conducted in 2010, respondents were most concerned about speeding and aggressive driving on California roadways, with 79.3% of respondents choosing it as a multiple-choice answer to "In your opinion, what are the biggest safety problems on California roadways?". Additionally, over 70% of respondents cited distracted driving due to texting and drunk driving as their biggest concerns when driving in California.
Table displaying responses to "In your opinion, what are the biggest safety problems on California roadways?" Respondents could select multiple answers. The top response was "Speeding/Aggressive Driving" by 1,960 respondents, followed by "Distracted Driving because of texting" by 1,816 respondents and "Drunk Driving" by 1,797 respondents.
(Photo credit: E&W)
Despite this widespread concern about other drivers' speeding, drivers themselves are more divided on whether their own speeding is safe. When asked if they think it is safe to drive ten miles over the speed limit on freeways, respondents were split relatively evenly on "Yes" (34.9%) and "It Depends" (35.6%) and slightly less likely to say "No" (29.5%). This is consistent with survey results from the past four years, while the majority of respondents prior to 2020 were most likely to say "Yes."
Vehicles with distracted drivers and no drivers
This is the first California Traffic Safety Survey to have questions on opinions regarding driverless vehicles, with nearly half of respondents (49.7%) believing that driverless vehicles will not make California roadways safer. Southern California drivers are likelier than Northern California drivers to be "Very Uncomfortable" with sharing the road with driverless vehicles, with the percentages (30.8% and 25.6%) being statistically significant.
Table displaying responses to "Do you think driverless vehicles will make our roadways safer?" Northern California drivers were more likely to answer "Yes" at 25.2%, compared to Southern California drivers at 20.6%. Southern California drivers were more likely to answer "No" at 51.5%, compared to Northern California drivers at 45.5%.
(Photo credit: E&W)
Texting and checking one's phone while driving is perceived as a greater danger than ever, with 72.7% of respondents citing it as the most serious distraction in the 2024 survey, compared to only 12.7% of respondents in the 2010 survey. Meanwhile, only 13.0% of 2024 respondents see talking on the phone while driving as the biggest distraction — a large drop from 61.9% of respondents from the 2010 survey.
These concerns are not unfounded, as nearly half of this year's respondents (45.6%) have made a driving mistake while using their phone, and over half of respondents (53.9%) have been nearly hit by a driver who was talking or texting on the phone.
Importance of the Safe System approach
Pedestrians and bicyclists are most likely to see drivers as their biggest safety concerns, and vice versa. Similar to previous years' surveys, respondents were most likely to cite cars going too fast, cars not stopping, and distracted drivers using cell phones as safety problems they experienced as pedestrians and/or bicyclists in the past six months.
With many dangers to keep in mind when driving, walking, and biking on the road, most respondents are receptive to the Safe System approach of increasing safety for all road users. Over 60% of respondents consider it "Very Important" to design safe roads for all users, including drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit systems, and over 50% of respondents see it being "Very Important" to promote safer and lower speed limits.
Table displaying responses to "Rate the importance of the following five factors to increase safety for all road users by year." Over half of all respondents rated the following four statements as "Very Important": promote safe speeds and reduce driver speeds to reduce injury severity for all road users; improve safe streets design to design roads that support all road users, including drivers, pedestrian, bicyclists and transit; expand awareness of safe walking, biking, and rolling; and support communities to plan for safe streets and public areas.
(Photo credit: E&W)
The California Traffic Safety Survey 2024 provides detailed statistical information on California drivers' safety concerns, driving behaviors, and recall of safety campaigns and sobriety checkpoints.
For additional information on California drivers' perceptions of road safety, the California Traffic Safety Survey is available online for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2018. The California Speeding and Aggressive Driving Study is also available online for 2019.