According to a survey carried out by a GAP insurance provider, almost one in five (17%) can be found munching on a quick snack, when they are in the car, with under-34s (32%) and those in the East Midlands (22%) and London (20%) being the most likely to chomp at the wheel. These are extraordinarily high percentages, when you consider that eating-at-the-wheel is not just illegal but could render you liable to a fine and points on your Driver’s Licence, if you are caught!
Singing at the top of one’s voice is also a pastime for almost one in ten (9%) drivers, with women twice as likely as men admitting to warble in their cars (6% male vs 12% female). Of course, try to avoid closing your eyes at the key-change and remember that other road-users may find your full-on diva performance both distracting and more than slightly worrying, if the arms and shoulders are also performing the full routine.
Despite defying any logic, 15% of drivers admit that they duck, when they driving under a bridge, or a low obstacle. Alternatively, they breathe in, when driving through a tight gap (8% male vs 23% female). Personally, I still cringe (and also duck), if an errant pigeon, or pheasant, flies into the windscreen, which is probably a carryover from the days when windscreens were made from only toughened, as opposed to laminated glass…and, yes, I did have a rather lively, if dazed, pheasant landing on the passenger seat of my car!
The survey of over 2000 British drivers found that 17% of drivers see the car as a place in which they can escape from the everyday stresses of life and enter their own private ‘bubble’, so maybe it is no surprise that they do things they might not do in company, or when other people are watching and listening. Yet, while consuming food and refreshments in a car is illegal, it is highly worrying that 18% of under 35s still glance at messages arriving on their mobile-phones, while they are driving (6% in total), despite the immense publicity campaign urging drivers not to do so. The dangers inherent to carrying out such practices are obvious and the best option is simply to switch off the devices, when driving. If the messages are important, you can read them, when you stop driving.
