There are a million different distractions on the road. Whether you’re driving past the sign flipper on the corner of a busy intersection, staring at the hulking billboard advertising a major blockbuster film, or just sipping a hot cup of coffee – your focus has been drawn elsewhere. There are actually some pretty surprising stats that go into all these little distractions that command our attention.
So what are the most common distractions on the road? In a recent survey, people confessed they were guilty of the following within the last 30 days alone,
- 13% had spoken on the phone.
- 22% had eaten while on the road.
- 9% had read text messages, 5% sent replies.
- 2% had watched online television, dressed themselves or brushed their teeth.
Looking closer at the data, women were much more likely to send and receive text messages behind the wheel while men were twice as likely to brush – and floss – behind the wheel. So far as phone calls are concerned, nearly 24% of the Irish admit to talking on the phone during this same period.
Truck Locator recently posted an article about in-car entertainment and found that the radio was the top method of whiling away those long stretches of sitting in heavy traffic. Nearly 12% of those surveyed reported that they would occasionally sing along with whatever playing – 41% of females and 25% of males are prone to bust out in song. Ireland is considered the most populous area for car singers. This seems to explain why the Irish know so many jaunty tunes.
Apparently the type of car you drive also stipulates how distracted you are behind the wheel. Who are the worst offenders? Research show Audi drivers throw caution to the wind when it comes to sending/receiving text messages. Nearly 13% admit to doing it on a semi-regular basis.
A noisy passenger can prove just as distracting for drivers. It probably comes as little surprise that children have been voted the most annoying passengers at a rate of 30%, followed shortly by an elderly relative at 26%.
You’ll probably never get your significant other to admit it, but partner/spouse was voted the most annoying passenger by 11% of those surveyed – this margin is shared by East Midlanders who found their boss to be the worst passenger. Somewhat surprisingly, it was mostly women who find disliked the company of their male partners in the car.
