Motorists warned of the dangers of bad driving habits

In 2005 there were an estimated 198,980 accidents on Britain’s roads, and looking at new research from Sainsbury’s Car Insurance, this is perhaps not surprising. The findings reveal that 76% (over 22 million motorists) have engaged in some form of potentially dangerous activity whilst driving in the last month.

Driving whilst tired is the most frequent dangerous driving habit, with 38% of motorists admitting to having done it over the past month. This is followed by eating and drinking whilst driving (31%), excessive speeding (26%) and driving ‘the morning after the night before’ (23%).

Other less obvious bad driving habits which motorists admitted to included driving in flip flops or bare feet. Indeed four million motorists said they did this last month. Additionally 1.7 million motorists admitted to texting on their phone when driving and 706,000 said they had applied make-up whilst at the wheel during May.

Richard Clark, car insurance manager, Sainsbury’s Bank said: “Motorists should think carefully about their driving habits as many may not have considered the dangers. Driving after drinking just one alcoholic drink for example. The Department of Transport(4) advises that just the one could be too much as it’s impossible to calculate your own alcohol limit.

“Another danger that many people may be unaware of are the hidden dangers that could be posed by a second-hand child car seat that has been involved in an accident, 1.3 million motorists admitted to using second-hand seats but unless they are sure of the seat’s history, it is impossible to know whether these are safe and still working properly.”

Sainsbury’s Car Insurance cover is one of only a few 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.

As well as being potentially dangerous, some bad driving habits are also illegal. For instance using a mobile phone without a hands-free facility when driving. Yet over four million motorists claim to have done this in the last month.

On a gender basis, the findings reveal that 12.7 million men have embarked on some form of dangerous activity whilst driving over the last month. This compares with 10 million women. Wales and the west saw 90% of its motorists 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 north-west was 65%, which was the lowest in Britain.