The findings of a recent Allstate Foundation study suggest that girls are racing ahead of boys in their need for speed and “aggressive” driving behavior. Teenage girls also admit to being more distracted than ever while maneuvering their rides.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the teen girls surveyed said they were bound to speed more than 10 miles per hour over the specified limit, versus 36 percent of boys. Also, 16 percent of the girls reported being “very aggressive” while driving, a marked increase from 9 percent in Allstate's initial 2005 survey. Meanwhile, 13 percent of teen boys admitted to being “very aggressive” while driving, versus 20 percent in 2005.

The Allstate Foundation first solicited feedback in 2005 to learn more about teens' prominent attitudes and behaviors while navigating the nation's roadways. This most recent iteration, “Shifting Teen Attitudes: The State of Teen Driving 2009,” procured data from the online interviews of more than 1,000 teen drivers.

Perhaps most disturbing, albeit unsurprising was that 82 percent of respondents said they operate cell phones while driving. They pointed to text messaging as their most common distraction (49 percent of respondents copped to texting while driving). Echoing the “teen girls [driving] badly” theme that seemed to dominate the survey results, Allstate also found that more female (51 percent) than male respondents (38 percent) admitted to using a cell phone to talk, text, or email while driving.

It remains debatable as to whether the gender gap in risky driving behavior is really closing. Are driving distractions more prominent with a certain gender? Are teen girls driving more aggressively, or are they simply more willing to label themselves as such? Differences aside, one commonality between the sexes is the sentiment of “it's them; not me.” A majority may be quick to blame other drivers on the road, yet gloss over their own deficiencies. Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they were confident with their own driving skills and the majority—82 percent, in fact—want to be perceived as being a “safe/skilled driver.”

A summary of the results of both the 2005 and 2009 surveys can be found at www.allstate.com/foundation.