Top Ten Driving Distractions

The top 10 distractions have been revealed. The list may surprise you!

How many of these things do you do when driving?

1. Music- 61% of motorists surveyed admitted that they had been distracted while driving by their radio, CD player and even their iPod.
2. Food and drink- 51% of drivers admitted that their driving had been compromised at least once by their decision to eat/drink while behind the wheel.
3. Made/taken phone calls- 23% of drivers admitted that they had made or received phone calls while driving.
4. Slowed down to look at an accident- 21% of motorists admitted to have slowed down to have a look at an accident which has occurred involving other motorists.
5. Sending a text message- 16% of motorists admitted to texting rather than focusing on the road.
6. Seat belt usage- 15% of drivers admitted driving without a seat belt. This may not be a distraction in the normal sense of the word, but if a driver is found to be driving without a seat belt they would still be charged with driving without due care and attention.
7. Sleeping/dozing- 5% of drivers admitted to having fallen asleep or dozed off while behind the wheel.
8. Cosmetics- 5% of motorists admitted to applying make-up, perfume or lipstick while driving.
9. Updating Facebook- 2% of drivers admitted to updating their Facebook profiles while behind the wheel.
10. Tweeting- 1% of drivers admitting to having tweeted when driving.

I think we will all agree that there has been much attention about driver distraction due to the use of mobile phones in vehicles, but I think this research shows that there are many forms of distractions out there and all of them are contributing to the accidents on our roads. Hopefully after reading this, you will think before you do something that could inhibit safe driving. If you would like to find out more about driver safety or any of our services including Fleet Driver Training, Motor Fleet Risk Management and Fleet Driver Risk Assessment please feel free to visit us online at http://www.rvmfleetservices.co.uk/