Motorists’ bad habits drive other road users around the bend
Speeding, tailgating, forgetting to dim lights when meeting oncoming cars and failing to use indicators, are just some of the poor practices that get other road users fuming.
But the greatest motoring offence of all would appear to be lying, because the number of drivers who say they see others breaking basic rules far exceeds the number who admit to getting it wrong.
According to a Millward Brown survey commissioned by Liberty Insurance, 66% of drivers have experienced another driver not using their indicator while overtaking, but only 15% admit they’ve ever done the same.
Close to 50% of drivers say they’ve been forced to pull in to allow another motorist complete an overtaking manoeuvre, but only 4% own up to being the road hogs in question.
And while almost 40% of drivers say they’ve seen people driving without a seatbelt while they have children in the car, only 1% would admit they would ever do such a thing.
Motorists are not so shy when it comes to confessing to other breaches. More than half of all drivers — 64% of men and 49% of women — admitted breaking the speed limit in the last year and a dazzling 31% have posed a hazard to others by forgetting to dim their lights.
Driving too close to the car in front is admitted by 22% and 105 have failed to belt up in the past year, while almost 20% have taken multi-tasking to a dangerous new level by eating, shaving, applying makeup or doing their hair while driving.
Annette Ní Dháthlaoí, head of marketing at Liberty Insurance, said: “Many Irish drivers are guilty of bad habits, such as tailgating, driving over the speed limit or taking our eye off the road which can lead to road accidents. Liberty Insurance has published the research to encourage people to be more cognisant of bad driving habits.”
It’s not just real bad behaviour that gets motorists going but also the perception that another driver is out to ruin your day. Some 24% of male motorists admit to beeping their horn unnecessarily compared to 16% of women.
Perhaps not unrelated to those statistics is the finding that 25% of female motorists take more than three attempts to park their car compared to 17% of men.
