Distracted drivers spotted eating, drinking, shaving and doing their hair, says IAM RoadSmart

Some drivers treat the driving seat as an extension of the bathroom mirror, engaging a wide range of personal grooming activities while behind the wheel.

This dangerous behaviour was revealed in an online study conducted by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart. Over 2,300 drivers shared information on incidents of distracted driving that they had witnessed.

The three most frequently observed activities reported were smoking, eating and drinking, all of which have been observed by more than 95% of those surveyed. A quarter of survey respondents saw someone drinking at the wheel every day and a fifth saw someone eating everyday.

Incidents of parents ‘telling off children’ and people ‘styling hair’ were also very common, being witnessed by 82% and 55% of responders respectively.

Some 63% of those surveyed had seen a driver look at a laptop or tablet screen.

Further down the chart were drivers seen trying to control a pet observed by 46%, reading a book at the wheel was witnessed by 3% and 24% were seen shaving.

More than half (57%) said they had been affected by drivers who had been distracted for any of the reasons seen in the survey.

The survey was conducted by IAM RoadSmart of 2,327 people up to 1 September. Some 75% of respondents wre IAM RoadSmart members.

Sarah Sillars, IAM RoadSmart chief executive officer, said: “We understand that the pressures of modern life mean we cannot always keep our cool, especially when children and pets who often don’t understand the concept of ‘concentration’. But it is exactly in these situations that a tragedy can occur. Talking to any passengers can wait until there are no other potential problems around. Pets should always be securely transported in their carriers.

“As far as the other bad habits revealed in the survey, these are all things that should be done at either end of the journey – not during it. Otherwise they can be a major distraction to the driver. We need to persuade drivers there is no such thing as ‘multi-tasking’ when it comes to motoring. Driving needs to be the sole activity going on whilst at the wheel. Everything else can wait.”

Over 60% of survey respondents either hadn’t seen or couldn’t recall seeing any campaigns about driving distractions. This has inspired IAM RoadSmart to create a short film starring ex-Formula 1 test driver and current Aston Martin racer Darren Turner that shows exactly how distracting children, pets and mobile phones can be, even for a professional driver.

To watch the video click here