A quarter of motorists fail to recognise common road signs
Nearly a quarter (23%) of motorists fails to recognise common British road signs, according to new research by The Co-operative Young Driver Insurance.
In a study of 2000 drivers, one in five (20%) wrongly identified the National Speed Limit sign as meaning No Access, whilst more than one in three (36%) did not recognise the No Stopping sign. Instead, a fifth (22%) thought the No Stopping sign referred to waiting restrictions and a tenth (10%) confused it with the National Speed Limit sign.
Worryingly, four in 10 drivers do not recognise the sign which means No Motor Vehicles, with more than a third (34%) thinking it means the exact opposite - ‘only motor vehicles allowed'.
It also shows that as well as a lack of knowledge of common road signs, an alarming number of motorists break the law when driving, with nearly one in five (17%) regularly talking on a handheld mobile phone, which increases to 22% among 18 to 24 year olds.
A quarter (26%) of people also frequently check their phone for texts, a tenth (8%) check Facebook and Twitter and a tenth (8%) wear headphones when they drive.
However, despite this when asked to rate their driving out of 10, the average British motorists gives themselves a score of seven. Only 16% of motorists rate their driving as a five or below, whilst more than half (53%) give themselves an eight, nine or 10.
But when it comes to rating other road-users, respondents were less generous giving them an average score of five out of 10 - 20% less than the score they gave themselves. Nearly half (49%) rated the driving of other motorists as five or below, whilst just one in 10 (10%) gave other drivers a score of eight, nine or 10.
Amy Kilmartin, Young Driver Insurance Manager at The Co-operative, said: "Our research shows that most people think they drive better than other motorists, despite admitting to getting distracted behind the wheel as well as not knowing what some of the most common road signs mean.
"Most people tend to believe that poor driving is not something they're guilty of but is something other drivers do. Our Young Driver Smartphone app means you can put that theory to the test as it scores your driving performance based on how well you drive.
"Getting an objective assessment of your driving style is the first step towards improving - and unlocking the door to insurance savings if you drive safely."
The research also shows that one in three (31%) British drivers regularly lose concentration when behind the wheel, which increases to 40% of young drivers (18 to 24 year olds). According to the research, the majority of motorists (56%) ‘switch off' on roads they regularly drive on whilst four in 10 (38%) lose focus on motorways.
Drivers also admitted to a range of other ‘bad behaviours' behind the wheel including doing their make up (10%), checking the road map (20%) and not wearing a seatbelt (11%).