Canadian Underwriter
News

22% of Canadian drivers admit to following too closely: survey


August 18, 2015   by Canadian Underwriter


Print this page Share

More than one in five Canadian drivers surveyed admitted they have followed other vehicles too closely while more than one in eight admit to having cut someone off, Kanetix Ltd. reported Tuesday.

The majority of those surveyed (58%) admitted to speeding

Toronto-based Kanetix, which operates an Internet insurance quote comparison service, released results of a survey it sponsored, which was conducted July 13-16 using Leger’s online panel. Leger surveyed 1,426 drivers, asking which of 12 different behaviours they were “guilty of doing or having done in the past while behind the wheel of a vehicle.” Respondents were also given the choice of answering “None of the above – I am a perfect driver,” and 19% claimed they were.

The majority (58%) admitted to speeding, 22% of respondents said they followed other vehicles too closely, 13% admitted to cutting someone off, 8% admitted to weaving in and out of traffic, 7% admitted to chasing/tailgating and 1% admitted to intentionally bumping another car.

A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, Kanetix stated. [click image below to enlarge]

Insurance quoting service Kanetix Ltd. sponsored a survey by Leger on driving behaviour

In Alberta, 66% admitted to speeding, 24% said they had followed another vehicle too closely, 16% admitted to cutting someone off and 11% admitted to weaving in and out of traffic. In Ontario, 62% admitted to speeding, 21% admitted to following too closely, 14% said they had cut someone off, 10% admitted to weaving in and out of traffic while 9% admitted to chasing/tailgating.

Nation-wide, 31% of respondents admitted to “using profanity out of frustration with traffic or delays,” while 19% admitted to displaying hostile hand gestures towards other drivers. Also, 19% admitted to yelling or using profanity at another driver. Seven per cent admitted to honking excessively at other drivers, 2% admitted to exiting their vehicles to confront other drivers while 1% admitted to physically confronting another driver.

More than one in four (26%) of respondents from Quebec claimed to be perfect drivers, while the numbers were 17% for Alberta and 15% for Ontario.


Print this page Share

Have your say:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*