|
4 out of 5 UK drivers admit to committing driving sins because they are late or need to get somewhere quickly.
It’s not just Donna Maddock* that’s guilty of a driving sin, a recent study by swiftcover.com, the UK’s first 100% online insurer, highlights how we are a nation of severely stressed out motorists. Over 30 million of us admit to committing misdemeanours and taking unnecessary risks behind the wheel, because we are late or need to get somewhere quickly.
In detail the driving sins are:
Pride
Breaking the speed limit, 52% admitted to this.
Used a handheld mobile phone whilst driving, 20% admit to this.
Envy
Overtaken another car in a dangerous way, 13% admit to this
Wrath
Used your car horn to speed up another motorist or get them out of the way, 17% admit to this.
Jumped a red light, 11% admit to this.
Driven the wrong way down a one way street, 12% admit to this.
Sloth
Parked illegally, 28% admit to this.
Avarice
Parked in a disabled or parent & child parking space, 14% admit to this.
Gluttony
Eaten or taken a drink at the wheel, 39% admit to this.
Lust
Changed clothing at the wheel, 5% admit to this.
What is more – only 14% said they had not committed any of these sins – meaning 4 out of 5 (or over 30 million of us) confess to sinning whilst driving because we are in a rush.
The report, commissioned by swiftcover.com through the Future Foundation, highlights how intolerant we are becoming in our daily lives and the affect this is having on our driving. Gone are the days of ‘knights of the road’, leisurely Sunday driving and fun family car trips – instead we are rushing to get from A to B with little regard for our fellow motorists. Our time stressed lives are leading to a host of dangerous, immoral, and often illegal, driving sins including changing clothes at the wheel and parking in spaces allocated for people with disabilities or those with children, by motorists who have neither!
Craig Staniland, Director of Underwriting at swiftcover.com commented: “It’s worrying when people are so stressed and harassed behind the wheel that they are putting themselves and others at risk. British motorists are being put under more and more pressure as congestion worsens and people continue to choose the car over other forms of transport so, in the future, incidents of bad behaviour are likely to go up.”
Gender differences
The report also found differences between the sexes and how far they would go to save time when driving. Although women are less likely to drive dangerously a very high proportion of them still take unnecessary risks at the wheel.
•10% of women admitted over taking another car in a dangerous way, whilst a staggering 25% of men have committed the same offence.
•Men are also the worse offenders when it comes to mobile phones, 17% women have used their handheld mobiles whilst driving compared to an astounding 29% of men, despite this being made illegal from December 2003.
•Even when it comes to changing clothes at the wheel, men are worse than women with almost one in ten (7%) admitting to this dangerous act compared to less than one in twenty female drivers (3%).
•Not surprisingly, men are far more likely to exceed speed limits - 71% have exceeded the speed limit compared to 51% of women.
Staniland concludes: “Stress seems to be part of everyday, modern life for many but, when it occurs whilst behind the wheel, it can become positively lethal. It is possible for motorists to reduce their stress levels. Better planning and taking a few minutes before setting off to relax, can help lessen pressure and avoid accidents caused by careless driving.”
*Donna Maddock, 22, was fined £200 on Wednesday 8th March 2006 after she was caught on camera putting on makeup while driving at 32mph
Article Source: Swiftcover.com Car Insurance Services. |
|
|
|
