12 million motorists ‘guilty’ of careless driving

More than one in three (37 per cent) motorists are guilty of driving without due care and attention according to new research carried out on UK streets by Direct Line Car Insurance.

Direct Line employed the services of an independent research team who observed the driving behaviour of 11,000 motorists in 10 cities across the UK over two weeks. The researchers recorded over two thousand actual instances of offences, which would be classed as careless driving.

Careless driving is a serious offence and a conviction carries three to nine penalty points and fines up to £2500*.

The most common type of careless driving observed were motorists failing to indicate. Researchers found close to a third (32 per cent) of drivers failed to indicate while changing lanes or turning into a junction.

Failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing was also noted as a serious problem. Close to a fifth (17 per cent) of motorists observed at a pedestrian crossing failed to stop for a member of the public when they were waiting to cross – an offence which carries three penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000. Researchers posted in Lancashire showed that Manchester’s motorists were the least considerate at a crossing, with close to half (45 per cent) ignoring a pedestrian and failing to bring their vehicle to a halt.

Widespread mobile phone usage was also spotted by the Direct Line researchers, with five per cent of motorists, regularly ignoring the law and continuing to drive whilst talking or texting on their phones.

Across the country, observations in Birmingham indicated that they were the worst culprits for using a mobile while driving, with close to one in five (16 per cent) caught doing so. Previous Direct Line research has proved that driving whilst using a handheld phone is actually more dangerous than driving whilst over the drink-drive limit**.

Plus it seems that drivers will do anything to save time – a further five per cent were spotted eating and drinking, reading maps, brushing their hair and even putting on make-up whilst behind the wheel.

The Direct Line findings revealed that across the nation, motorists in Norwich appeared to be the most considerate drivers. They were found more likely to indicate and stop at a pedestrian crossing and less likely to use their mobiles while driving.

However at the other end of the scale, careless drivers were more likely to come from Leeds, which appears to have less considerate drivers than even London, traditionally thought of as the place with the most aggressive drivers.

Starting with the poorest drivers, the five worst offenders are***:
Leeds (Yorkshire)
Manchester (Lancashire)
Bristol (West Country)
London
Birmingham (Midlands)

Emma Holyer, Direct Line motor spokesperson said:

”We conducted the research to find out how many drivers are flouting the law and our findings are shocking. Careless driving is a major cause of accidents – and aside from the increased risk of causing a crash, a careless driving offence carries severe penalties so we are reminding motorists to take care, keep their full concentration on their driving and brush up on the rules as detailed in the Highway Code.”

For more information, log on to www.directline.com/car.

Emma Holyer/Direct Line Press Office
0208 256 2182 / 07894 158605
Email: emma.holyer@directline.com

Notes to Editors:

The research was carried out by PCP Market Research between Thursday 24th August and Tuesday 5th September 2006. Researchers in 10 UK cities observed passing drivers for four hours at each of the three types of location per city: at a junction, at a pedestrian crossing and at a busy residential area without a junction or crossing. A total of 11,000 observations were made.

* Source: www.highwaycode.gov.uk - Careless or inconsiderate driving, £2,500 fine, discretionary disqualification, 3-9 penalty points

** Source: In 2002, Direct Line commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to undertake extensive research on the dangers of using a mobile phone when driving. This study was designed to quantify the impairment from hands-free and hand-held phone conversations in relation to the decline in driving performance caused by alcohol impairment.
The results showed a clear trend for significantly poorer driving performance (speed control, following distance and reaction times) when using a phone in comparison to other conditions
Driving performance under the influence of alcohol was significantly worse than normal driving, yet significantly better than driving while using a phone. Furthermore, drivers reported that it was easier to drive drunk than to drive while using a phone.

*** The five most considerate regions are:

Norwich (East of England)
Edinburgh (Scotland)
Southampton (South)
Cardiff (Wales)
Newcastle (North East)

Careless driving facts:

• More than 33,000 drivers were found guilty of careless driving in 2002 (www.homeoffice.gov.uk)
• A number of offences are included in careless driving convictions (
www.lawontheweb.co.uk)
• Driving without due car and attention (3 – 9 points)
• Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users (3 – 9 points)
• Driving without due care or attention or consideration (3 – 9 points)
• Causing death through careless driving whilst unfit through drink (3 – 11 points)
• Causing death through careless driving whilst unfit through drugs (3 – 11 points)
• Causing death through careless driving then failing to supply a specimen (3 – 11 points)