Long distance drivers are wasting ‘mind time’

UK commuters, who already face some of the longest drives in Europe, are also wasting valuable ‘mind time’ according to Audible.co.uk.

The average Briton spends nearly five hours each week or 20 hours a month driving to and from their place of work. Busy city executives face an even longer drive with their commuting time rising to as much as 47 days a year. In an ever-busy world, commuters are missing out on using this time effectively.

In the 20 hours the average Brit spends commuting a month, they could get through three classic Jane Austen novels: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma or seven James Bond stories such as classics like Dr No, From Russia with Love, Casino Royale, and For Your Eyes Only.

Alternatively, for those planning a foreign holiday or who just want to learn a new language, Chinese can be learned in just three weeks of commuting time whilst Italian is taught in just two weeks.

For commuters looking for a challenge, British Book Award winner Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion can be completed in just three weeks of driving time.

Those commuting to work aren’t the only ones spending vast amounts of time on the road. There are now three million company car owners, and they clock up a massive 7440 miles per year for work, plus a personal mileage of over 5000 miles. Haulage drivers come top of the driving charts however, spending as many as 60 hours a week at the wheel.

With DFT figures showing that car and van traffic is rising by on average 5% a year, and the City of London seeing a 7% increase in commuters, it appears that we’re set to spend ever more time in our cars.

According to audiobook download site, Audible.co.uk, British drivers need to make better use of the time spent commuting. Louis Wahl comments:

“The average person spends 11 days of the year in their car – over half their annual holiday entitlement. We should make sure this time doesn’t go to waste. With audiobooks we can make our ‘mind time’ much more effective by catching up with a book we’ve always wanted to read or even learning a new language.”

Sam O’Brien, Regional Activation Manager for a blue chip company agrees: “My company offers me a car and requires me to drive at least 25 hours a month to keep it. With traffic in London at an all time high, I’m desperate for something other than the radio to keep me entertained. I’ve found that audiobooks keep my mind entertained on a long drive and I’ve now started catching up on all the books I’ve always promised myself I’d read.”

Audible.co.uk has a host of titles whatever your drive time; including unabridged versions of titles like Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife and Bill Bryson’s A Short History Of Nearly Everything, lighter listens from authors such as Alexander McCall Smith and Marian Keyes and comedy from Ricky Gervais and The Mighty Boosh. Audible’s language selection ranges from French and Spanish to Mandarin and Russian.

To download any of the titles, go to audible.co.uk. Prices range from free and up.