Dangers of bad driving habits

In 2007 there were an estimated 182,115 accidents in which people were injured on Britain's roads; new research from Sainsbury's Car Insurance indicates why this is perhaps not surprising. The findings reveal that 65% of motorists have engaged in some form of potentially dangerous activity whilst driving in the last month. This is 3% more than last year.

Eating and drinking whilst driving is the most prevalent dangerous habit, with 41% of motorists questioned admitting to having done so during June. This is followed by driving whilst feeling tired (28%), although this has fallen 6% on last year, driving wearing flip flops/no shoes (18%) and excessive speeding (17%).

Despite it being illegal to use a non hands-free mobile phone whilst driving, 14% of motorists surveyed said that they did this last month and 11% admitted to sending text messages whilst driving, worryingly up from 8% last year. 13% of drivers questioned admit to reading a map whilst driving.

"Unfortunately, many motorists may not have considered the dangers behind some of their actions. For example, according to our research an estimated 665,000 motorists have admitted to using a second hand child car seat in the past month and an estimated 472,000 have driven a child under the age of seven when they were not in appropriate safety seating."

Sainsbury's Car Insurance is one of only a few insurers to offer new-for-old replacement child seats after an accident as a standard feature of its car insurance policy, even when there is no perceived damage.

On a gender basis, the findings reveal that an estimated 10.8 million male drivers have embarked on some form of dangerous activity whilst driving over the last month. This compares with approximately 8.3 million female drivers.

The North West saw 76% of its motorists surveyed engaging in a possibly dangerous act whilst at the wheel in the last month, which was the highest in the country. The corresponding figure for the Scotland was 59%, which was the lowest in Britain.

Sainsbury's Car Insurance offers motorists an extensive range of cover and benefits. This includes a courtesy car when using one of its recommended repairers (comprehensive cover only) and a no claim discount of 70% if you take out a policy and have not made a claim in the past five years, rising to 75% after a further five years' claim free driving with Sainsbury's Car Insurance. It is also one of only a few providers to offer new for old replacement child car seats after an accident as a standard feature of its comprehensive policy, even when there is no visible damage, as well as support and compensation if you're a victim of car jacking or road rage.