Male motorists risk winter driving perils
As the freezing weather continues, Sainsbury's Car Insurance warns of the dangers of ignoring warnings not to drive in severe conditions.
New research out has found that men are far more likely than women to risk tackling snowy roads despite warnings not to set off unless absolutely necessary.
Research for the supermarket bank found that nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of male drivers would happily set off in their cars despite advice not to whereas half the number, just 13 per cent of women drivers, would take similar risks. Overall, men appear to take a far more risky approach to winter driving, with a greater number failing to check weather forecasts, slowing down, or leaving longer braking distances between themselves and other motorists.
Six per cent of male motorists surveyed, equivalent to around 980,000 men, even admitted to driving in wintry conditions without wearing a seatbelt. This is more than three times the number of women that would do the same.
Alarmingly, both sexes are almost as bad as each other when it comes to setting off without fully clearing and de-misting the front and rear windscreens with 28 per cent (male drivers) and 26 per cent (female drivers) admitting to this respectively.
Ben Tyte, Sainsbury's Car Insurance Manager, said: "With much of the UK continuing to experience severe winter weather our findings are a real worry. Motorists should at the very least be making sure that their windscreens are fully cleared for their own safety and that of other road users. The fact that some people are still driving without a seatbelt is simply staggering, but also illegal."
Both men and women have suffered the consequences of driving despite severe weather in the last five years. In total around one in five motorists surveyed, 18 per cent or some 6.3 million people, claim to have ignored advice not to drive in severe weather and just over 1.8 million have broken down, had an accident, or been stranded as a consequence.
Around one in ten motorists who have ignored advice to leave the car at home, equivalent to just fewer than 800,000 people, have had an accident as a result. And while men may consider themselves more adept at handling wintry motoring conditions their confident approach is far more likely to see them stranded. Over half a million male motorists admit to having broken down after ignoring warnings not to drive in the last five years - more than double the number of women suffering the same fate.
Ben Tyte, commented: "Men may well see braving snowy roads as a challenge given they often regard themselves as more confident drivers, but confidence can soon be knocked and our advice is to simply not take the risk. We would encourage all motorists to take adequate precautions if they have to drive in snowy or icy conditions."
Sainsbury's Car Insurance offers the following cold weather motoring tips:
Check your battery (make sure you check your car manual before you do this), monitor your oil, water and brake fluid levels on a regular basis and make sure your car has a winter service
Check tyre condition for both pressure and legal tread depth - the current minimum legal tread depth for cars is 1.6mm
Make sure you de-ice all of your windows before driving and that you have antifreeze in your car
Use your headlights in rain or snow - remember to ensure your lights are clean so that you can see and also be seen, and don't drive too close to the vehicle in front of you, allowing more time and distance to brake and accelerate
Where possible use major routes, which may have been gritted/salted
Take a mobile phone if you have one - remember to ensure the battery is fully charged but don't use it whilst driving unless you have a hands-free kit
Check the weather before you set off on your journey
If setting off on a long or out of town journey, take warm clothes and a blanket, a flask of hot drink, appropriate shoes in case you end up walking and consider taking a couple of pieces of old carpet or material to place under tyres to prevent them from spinning on frozen snow or ice.