October 2009

The ‘bad habits’ hit parade

It’s probably the most common road traffic offence you see, nearly every day, on Britain’s roads.

Stand on any busy street corner, watch the drivers of vehicles coming passed and, within a few minutes, you’ll see one being committed.

Ironically, the single thing that irritates drivers most on UK roads is what so many of them actually do…. use a mobile phone illegally on the move!

So says a new nationwide survey from breakdown service Autonational Rescue.

In fact 64% of drivers asked agreed that other drivers using mobiles on the move was the bad habit that annoyed them most.

Asked the simple question: “Which bad driving habits annoy you most in other motorists”, the answers (in descending order) were:

• Drivers using mobile phones on the move (1)
• Being Overtaken in dangerous situations (2)
• Being ‘carved up’ by another motorist (=3)
• Other drivers not using their indicators (=3)
• Speeding motorists who drive too fast for the road conditions (5)
• Drivers who ‘hog’ the motorway’s middle lane (6)
• Motorists who drive too slowly for the road conditions (7)
• Not acknowledging your friendly wave or courtesy when you let another driver out of a side road (8)
• Drivers tailgating and driving too close (9)

Autonational’s marketing manager Ronan Hart said: “It is of course a criminal offence for motorists to use a hand-held mobile phone on the move. “But a lot of people still don’t realise – or just ignore the fact – that this includes when you are waiting at traffic lights or in a traffic jam.”

UK drivers can get a fixed penalty of £60 and three penalty points on their license if they break the law in this way.

“And the only real exception,” added Ronan, “is if you use the phone to dial 999 in a genuine emergency where it would be unsafe to stop.
You can use a hands-free mobile phone, but if you lose control of your vehicle while using it, you also risk getting a fixed penalty of £60 and three penalty points.

And if a case goes to court, in addition to license points, you can even face disqualification on top of a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 for drivers of buses, coaches or heavy goods).

The new independent survey was carried out across Great Britain by CAPI Omnibus based on a representative sample of around 1,000 adults at 72 sampling points.

Autonational Rescue is the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, for more information visit www.autonational.co.uk or call 08459 100 345.

Ends

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Issued by: CPR Works Ltd
Contact: Roger Eversley/Jenny Carr
Tel: 01902 680068
E-mail: info@cpr.co.uk
Web: www.cpr.co.uk