What's Your Driving Personality?

Allstate conducted a survey in 2003 to understand the driving habits of Americans. It produced five unique personalities based on actual driving actions. Each category represents between 15 to 23 percent of American drivers. Allstate named these groups "Auto-Bahners," "Auto-Matics," "Auto-Nomous," "Auto-Pragmatics" and "Auto-Pilots." Auto-Bahners (17%): --Describe themselves as "fast," "aggressive" but "good" drivers. Consider driving exciting and say that driving gives them a sense of freedom. --Male 63 percent, female 35 percent. --Most likely to admit getting angry when another driver cuts them off. However, most of these drivers also concede they like to enjoy the scenery when they drive. --Average highway speed is 71 mph, the fastest group. Most (80 percent) admit to have driven more than 20 miles over the speed limit at least once. --Most have been pulled over by the police in the past five years, and half have received a ticket for a moving violation. --In the past five years, one-third admit to have driven after having three or more drinks, more than most of the other drivers. Auto-Matics (23%): --Only 40 percent enjoy driving; the rest are lukewarm about it. They’re less likely than others to describe themselves as "smart" (63 percent), "practical" (50 percent) or "family-oriented" (52 percent). --75 percent say they are “safe” or “confident” drivers, a smaller proportion than all other groups that say the same. 34 percent describe themselves as “laid-back.” --40 percent say they like to drive fast. About half say they love their car and many say the car they drive (although not driving itself) is important to them, though it is not more important than it is to most of the other groups. --Four in 10 say they like it when people notice their cars, making them more likely than any other group to find this important. They are more likely than others to say they are "distinctly styled" (38 percent), "attention-getting" (32 percent), "trendy" (31 percent) and "extravagant" (22 percent). Auto-Nomous (21%): --Describe themselves as "rugged" and "powerful." They like to enjoy the scenery, and they consider their cars to be a comfortable place to be. --60 percent drive SUVs or pickup trucks. 63 percent male. --Call themselves “good” drivers. Enjoy driving very much and end to find it relaxing. --Describe their cars as "powerful," "safe," "large" and "rugged" and are among the least likely to say their cars are "economical." Auto-Pragmatics (15%): --Describe themselves as "confident," "cautious," "economically conscious" and "environmentally friendly,” and view their cars similarly. --Consider themselves "good" and "confident" drivers, not "fast" and "aggressive." Most likely to consider their driving style as "safe" or "cautious." Important for them to get where they are going as safely as possible, no matter how long the trip takes. --Most likely to describe the inside and outside of their car as "clean." --58 percent not employed, 28 percent retired. 69 percent female. Auto-Pilots (15%): --Describe themselves as "reliable," "confident," "smart" and "family-oriented." --71 percent female. Half have children under 18 at home (more than any other category). 18 percent are homemakers. 19 percent drive minivans. --Only 29 percent strongly agree that they are "confident" drivers. Only one-third agree that they enjoy driving very much. More so than any other group, one in three prefers the passenger seat to the driver's seat, and 24 percent tend to avoid driving whenever they can. --Least likely to say that their car is a reflection of who they are or that the kind of car they drive is important to them. The Allstate "You Are What You Drive" survey was conducted for Allstate by RoperASW. Interviews with 2,500 car owners were conducted online from August 8 to August 15, 2003. The survey was conducted among an online population of U.S. car owners and has been weighted to reflect the population of U.S. car owners as a whole. The sampling error on the total sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Sampling error for sub-groups is higher.