ERIE, Pa., Jan. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A national
survey of more than 2,000 U.S. residents across four generations
reveals some surprising differences toward cars and driving. Erie
Insurance commissioned the survey to understand attitudes among a
segment of Gen Z (14- to 17-year-olds); Millennials (18-34); Gen X
(35-50); and Baby Boomers (51-69).
Younger generation excited about driving
While some
research has shown a declining interest in driving, ERIE found that 89 percent of 14- to
17-year-olds who don't yet have a driver's license plan to get one,
and of those, 96 percent are excited about learning to drive. That
mirrors the response from Baby Boomers when asked to look back on
the time when they began driving. The survey also found that 85
percent of Millennials who don't yet have a car plan to get
one.
"What this tells us is that while there has been some societal
shift away from cars, they remain a central part of people's
lives," said Jon Bloom, vice
president of personal auto, Erie Insurance. "Many think Millennials
don't care about cars. Our research suggests otherwise."
Unfortunately, unsafe driving practices continue
The
survey revealed some alarming and unsafe behaviors. When asked
about texting while driving, 6 percent of drivers said, "It's no
big deal; I do it all the time."
And, while experts say it's never safe to text and drive, almost
a third of drivers (31 percent) disagree, saying they sometimes do
it when they feel it's safe. Millennial drivers are most likely to
say this (44 percent); followed by Gen Z (40 percent) and Gen X (35
percent). Baby Boomers were the least likely to feel this way (13
percent).
Interestingly, the data suggest that young people change their
attitudes toward texting and driving once they actually start
driving. Among Gen Zs who don't yet drive, 28 percent say they
would sometimes do it when they felt they could do so safely, but
once they start driving, that number jumps to 40 percent.
And while seat belts have long been proven to save lives, their
use declines with each generation. The vast majority of Baby
Boomers (94 percent) say they always wear a seat belt, compared
with 87 percent of Gen X and 81 percent of Millennials. Only 77
percent of Gen Z report always wearing a seat belt.
Mixed feelings about autonomous cars
When it comes to
letting the car do the driving, 37 percent of Millennials say
they'd love to be transported in a self-driving car, compared with
only 15 percent of Baby Boomers. A significant number say they
would never trust a car that totally drives itself, including 35
percent of Baby Boomers on the high end and 15 percent of
Millennials on the low end.
Sixteen percent of drivers think autonomous vehicles will
eliminate the need for car insurance. More than half (58 percent)
say it's because there will no longer be car accidents.
Other interesting findings
- Car nicknames are on the rise, with the most popular being
variations on Baby and Betsy. And lots of names are inspired by
colors, including blue (Big Blue, Blue Belle and My Bluebird of
Happiness are all real examples) and red (Big Red, Red Rose and Crimson Typhoon).
- When it comes to navigating, more than half (53 percent) rely
on internet-based apps, followed by in-car navigation systems (33
percent), and printing out directions (10 percent). Almost no one,
regardless of age, regularly uses a paper road map (2 percent) or
asks someone for directions and writes them down (1 percent).
- Half of Gen Z (51 percent) have never used a paper road map and
almost a third of Millennials (31 percent) haven't. Almost all Baby
Boomers (94 percent) have, but for almost half of them (45
percent), it's been longer than five years ago.
View this infographic for additional survey results and this
video to hear different generations share their views on driving
and cars.
Methodology: The survey was conducted by Falls Communications on
behalf of Erie Insurance from Sept.
28 – Oct. 26, 2017 among 2,147
U.S. residents ages 14-69. ResearchNow (Plano, TX) administered the survey, via the
internet, to its captive U.S. panels. While different sample sizes
have different margins of error, the estimated margin of error for
the sample size of all 2,147 respondents is +/- 2.1 percent. For
additional information, contact Sara
Erhartic.
About Erie Insurance
According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in
Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 10th
largest homeowners insurer and 12th largest automobile insurer in
the United States based on direct
premiums written and the 15th largest property/casualty insurer in
the United States based on total
lines net premium written. The Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M.
Best Company, has more than 5 million policies in force and
operates in 12 states and the District of
Columbia. Erie Insurance Group is a FORTUNE 500 company.
News releases and more information about Erie Insurance Group
are available at www.erieinsurance.com.
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SOURCE Erie Insurance