Road Safety Week: 8 in 10 Motorists Admit to Dangerous Driving
With Road Safety Week in full swing, First4Lawyers conducted research into driver attitudes and habits by commissioning a survey of 2,000 UK motorists and the results were worrying to say the least.
8 in 10 drivers actually admitted to risking their lives and the lives of others whilst on the road by acting carelessly and dangerously.
Most common road risks:
- Speeding - Speeding topped the risky behaviour leaderboard in the survey, with over ½ (55%) admitting to exceeding the speed limit whilst driving.
- Driving whilst tired - 30% of respondents fessed up to driving whilst tired, which can have dangerous consequences as 1 in 5 accidents on major roads are caused by tiredness
- Driving when ice on the windscreen hasn’t fully defrosted - We found that 29% of drivers have cut corners before even getting behind the wheel by driving without having a clear view of the road.
Despite research revealing a long list of dangerous confessions, 83% of survey participants thought that they were still safe behind the wheel and avoided taking any risks and 70% still believed that the roads are safe to drive on regardless of the findings.
Qamar Anwar, Managing Director of First4Lawyers, said: “The research shows the vast majority of drivers are safe and law-abiding but there is a hugely worrying number who are not.
“It’s easy to develop an ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude when driving – especially if you’re an experienced driver or have never been involved in an accident before.
“However road vehicles really are potentially lethal – it simply isn’t worth taking the risks – at the very minimum you could end up with points on your licence.
“But the reality of taking unnecessary risks whilst driving is often far worse and can have catastrophic consequences, not only for yourself, but for other road users too.”
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Top 10 risks taken by motorists |
|
|
Exceeded the speed limit |
55% |
|
Driven whilst tired |
30% |
|
Driven when ice on my windscreen hasn’t fully defrosted |
29% |
|
Undertaken vehicles i.e. overtaken a vehicle on its left-hand side |
24% |
|
Driven through a red light |
23% |
|
Driven after exceeding the alcohol limit |
21% |
|
Stayed in the middle lane when the left hand and right hand lanes are empty |
21% |
|
Driven after taking recreational drugs |
17% |
|
Taken/made phone calls without using ‘hands free’ |
16% |
|
Not worn a seatbelt |
13% |
Qamar Anwar added: “Driving can be – and should be – a safe and enjoyable experience.
“However as the findings show, there are those who are taking risks and could be ruining it for everyone else.
“Not all accidents are necessarily preventable but many are – and all drivers have a role to play in making UK roads and highways safer.”
Along with the research, First4Lawyers also created an interactive driver aptitude test, where motorists can find out how safe of a road user they are during road safety week.
