Research reveals Americans are terrified of driving after lack of practice during the pandemic

By SWNS Staff

If you feel like your driving skills have taken a backseat during the pandemic, you’re not alone. New research shows 34% of Americans would retake driver’s ed to get back into the swing of driving once the pandemic is over.

A recent survey asked 2,000 Americans that have ever driven to describe how the pandemic has impacted their driving habits and found 46% have been on the roads less during the pandemic. Of these respondents, 37% went so far as to say they’ve forgotten how to drive entirely.

Nearly half (47%) of all respondents shared they haven’t driven more than 50 miles per month since the pandemic began.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Nextbase Dash Cams, the survey found that 46% of respondents have become increasingly annoyed at other drivers lately as they return to the roads.

This could be connected to 53% of respondents agreeing the roads have been a bit of a free for all as people aren’t following the rules of the road during the pandemic.

For other respondents, however, the top reactions included honking their horn (33%), flashing their lights (25%) and even yelling out the window (21%).

Fifteen percent of those polled said they even go so far as to cut other drivers off after a tiff on the road.

To cool down, 32% turn on the radio and 20% call someone and talk to them about it. Even though respondents have cooled down themselves, 22% said they’ve witnessed road rage from other drivers during the course of the pandemic.

“These survey results quantify the effects of nearly 15 months of mandated lockdowns on driver psychology and observed driving behaviors,” said Richard Browning, global director for Nextbase Dash Cams. “Concurrently, we’ve seen a significant increase in shared consumer dash cam video vividly documenting incidents of dangerous driving and road rage.”

With all of this in mind, it’s no surprise 39% of respondents agreed they feel more anxious about driving now than ever. In fact, 45% also agreed they have to mentally prepare themselves before getting behind the wheel these days.

Perhaps due to all of these additional stressors on the roads, 35% of respondents agreed their driving skills just aren’t as good as they used to be.

In fact, respondents admitted to picking up some bad habits themselves during the pandemic. The top habits respondents admitted to doing for the first time over the past year included, braking suddenly (25%), speeding (24%) and changing lanes without signaling (24%).

Twenty-two percent of respondents shared they’ve turned without signaling, and 21% confessed to pulling a California stop (or rolling stop) while on the road.

The average respondent thinks it’ll take them about three months to overcome these habits – but they better move a bit quicker than that. Sixty-two percent of those polled said they were likely to partake in a road trip of 100 miles or more this summer.

“Most of us are feeling pent-up desire to return to normal life right now, and with summer upon us, for many, that means family road trips,” said Browning. “With larger numbers of vehicles returning to the roads, and many drivers exhibiting bad driving habits or generally out of practice, it is important for drivers to do everything they can to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. A dash cam can help by being your reliable video witness on the road – providing drivers with peace of mind that road incidents will be captured accurately and in high quality, to ensure video footage can be used to support an insurance claim or investigation.”

AMERICA’S WORST DRIVING HABITS