94% of Ohio drivers say they're very good or excellent behind the wheel

Ask any Ohio driver and all of them, with any doubt, will say they're awesome behind the wheel.

Ask them about those they share the road with, and that's a much different story.

A new Nationwide survey finds 94% of drivers say they're very good or excellent behind the wheel. The remaining 6% say they are good.

But when asked to rate the driving of those around them, just 26% called them very good or excellent, 35% are good and the rest are either poor or fair, according to those surveyed. Almost all of those surveyed say drivers around them are going faster, are more reckless, are more aggressive and looking at their phones more frequently.

And despite what they believe is their overall excellent driving, these drivers admit to dangerous behavior from time to time: checking their phones, speeding and texting, and, flipping the bird to another driver or some other obscene gesture.

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Beth Riczko, president of Nationwide's property and casualty personal lines, blames human nature for the disconnect.

"When we drive poorly, when we drive distracted, we rationalize it as, ‘Oh but I'm still able to keep my eye on the road,'" she said. "We kind of put a whole bunch of context or rationale around it, but when we see someone in the car next to us looking at their phone and not looking at the road, we immediately label them a bad driver." 

More than half of all motorists admit to speeding or eating while driving and a quarter say they texted while behind the wheel in the past year.

Additionally, 19% say they gave an obscene gesture to another driver, 12% used or checked social media while driving and 5% say they watched TV or a movie while driving.

“My guess is that person, when they’re doing that, doesn’t think of themselves as a bad driver," she said.

The survey comes amid an surge of fatal accidents and speeding since the pandemic started. The number of tickets issued to drivers in Ohio topping 100 mph has been on the rise.

Riczko sees the fast driving first hand on her trips to the office in Columbus.

"I'm depressed and sad and I'm not surprised. We've experienced it on the road," she said of the survey results. "It just confirms what a lot of us are feeling on the road. We don’t feel any safer. ... We can’t put our phone down even to drive.’’ 

That drivers think they're so good is part of the problem, she said.

"It's dangerous that people think they’re as good on the road as they are because when you think you’re a very good or excellent driver, you think you can handle risk better than you really can,’’ Riczko said. 

To address the issue of distracted driving, the state enacted a law that just took effect that makes it easier for police officers to pull over motorists over for such things as texting, checking social or streaming videos.

Insurance companies, in return, are raising rates to deal with climbing accident rates coupled with inflation. The inflation data this week shows the cost of auto insurance has risen 15% in the past year.

Nearly two-thirds of drivers say driving has become more stressful in the past year, 44% say they're more impatient, 21% say they drive faster and 19% acknowledge looking at their phone more often.

Fixing poor driving will take an approach similar to the education campaigns that have been effective in reducing drunken driving, she said.

Auto insurance cell phone apps can help as well since they can produce data showing how well drivers do, along with getting young drivers to develop good habits, she said.

All of this comes with the goal of getting drivers to change their perception of the risk of distracted driving, she said.

"You want people to think twice," Riczko said. "That is what it fundamentally comes down to.’’ 

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams