Dangerous driving rampant among millennials, study reveals

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTRK) -- The vast majority of millennial drivers admit to engaging in risky, dangerous behaviors while driving, a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals.

A staggering 88 percent of young millennials "engaged in at least one risky behavior behind the wheel in the past 30 days," which included behaviors like running red lights, texting while driving and speeding.

Young millennial drivers were 1.6 times more likely to send or receive emails and text messages and 1.4 times more likely to drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Half of young millennial drivers also report driving through a light that had just turned red when they could have stopped safely.

In 2015, traffic-related fatalities rose more than 7 percent, the largest single-year increase in half a century.

"It's critical that these drivers understand the potentially deadly consequences of engaging in these types of behaviors and that they change their behavior and attitudes in order to reverse the growing number of fatalities on U.S. roads," AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director Dr. David Yang said in a news release.