motoring guide

Driver distractions causing more crashes on Britain's roads

These days cars are loaded with gadgets: sat-navs, CD players, mp3 systems, parking sensors, hands-free mobile phone kits, DVD players in headrests, the list goes on.

However, as our thirst for the latest technology increases, road safety charities and motoring groups have warned that in-car devices could be a major distraction and lead to more accidents on Britain's roads.

Recent research by the RAC found that over a third of motorists have admitted to becoming "seriously distracted" while driving. The report found that young drivers are the worst culprits, with 55 per cent of 17 to 24-year-olds saying that they have lost concentration behind the wheel.

Worringly, young motorists are making irresponsible choices while driving, leading to their attention being diverted from the road. One in five said that they listen to music through headphones, while 16 per cent said they put make-up on while driving.

In addition, over a quarter admitted to texting behind the wheel, even though just three per cent believe this is acceptable behaviour.

Older drivers, on the other hand, were much safer, with 79 per cent of drivers over 65 saying they never get seriously distracted.

The most traditional in-car gadget, the humble radio, was found to be the most distracting piece of technology, according to the RAC's report. It found that 57 per cent of people felt that music players and radio controls are the main cause of them losing attention.

Second on motorists' list were sat-nav systems, with 41 per cent of respondents saying that these were a serious distraction, while mobile phones were felt to be the biggest diversion by 32 per cent of drivers.

In addition, 31 per cent of people said they lost concentration as a result of air-conditioning controls and, more worryingly, 21 per cent felt dashboard warning lights diverted their attention from the road.

"This clearly shows that in-car distractions continue to be a significant road safety issue, especially for the new generation of drivers," said David Bizley, director of technical at RAC.

"While in-car gadgets do make journeys easier and more entertaining it's important that they are used appropriately. Even a split second distraction can have potentially disastrous consequences," he added.

A study by academics at Heriot-Watt university has since backed up the RAC report. The research, lead by Dr Terry Lansdown, a senior lecturer of applied psychology at the institute, found that three out of four crashes are being caused by distractions at the wheel.

It found that dealing with misbehaving children was the biggest cause of accidents, while sat-navs were the second most common reason for crashes. According to the findings, inputting data into the navigation devices was a major cause of near-misses on the roads.

The researchers used anonymous questionnaires to gain information about people's driving behaviour and found that 52 per cent of people admitted to using a mobile phone while driving.

In addition, 40 per cent of respondents said they had written a text behind the wheel, while mp3 players were also cited as major distractions for drivers.

"I think there is a social component to texting particularly and I think many people rely on their business communications," said Dr Lansdown, who presented the research at an international conference in Sweden.

"There is no doubt that whether you are using your phone hands-free or hand-held and if you read or write texts it is a risky activity to do while driving, it will distract you," he added.

Adding to this research, a recent survey by Continental Tyres found that British drivers only concentrate for two-thirds of their time behind the wheel.

The survey found that six out of ten people admit to "zoning out" when driving, with 59 per cent saying they forget parts of their journey. In addition over half of the 4,000 motorists questioned by Continental said that they switch to "auto-pilot" mode on their daily committee.

Re-tuning the radio or changing a CD was found to be the biggest reason for lack of concentration on the road, with talking to a passenger in second and looking at scenery the third biggest distraction.

"These statistics are really worrying," said Guy Frobisher, of Continental. "When driving, so much can happen in just a few seconds that you need to be able to react quickly so you can brake safely.

"If you're not fully paying attention you are less likely to anticipate the risks that emerge during a journey and reactions are slowed."

The study also found that the average driver is on the road for 45 minutes of the day, but is not concentrating for 17 minutes of this time.

It also revealed that people make on average three trips a day and are distracted at least three times on each journey, for at least four second each time.

The RAC's research shows that the impact of in-car distractions on driving performance is potentially severe. For example, if a motorist is driving at 70mph, in the five seconds it takes to change a CD, the car will have travelled 156m. So they will have covered the length of nearly two football pitches while being largely unaware of their surroundings and the behaviour of other road users .

When this is added to the typical stopping distance of 96m for a vehicle moving at 70mph, the car might travel as far as 252m, or the length of three football pitches, before its driver is able to bring it to a complete standstill.

Ms Bizley said that although there is legislation in place which criminalises certain distractions, such as mobile phones, the message does not seem to be getting through to many drivers.

"The number of fatalities as a result of in vehicle distractions has increased per cent over the last three years," he added.

Now, the RAC is calling for government safety campaigns to be widened to include all in-car distractions, such as adjusting the radio and heating or air-conditioning controls and programming sat-navs, as well as mobile phones.

"You only have to consider the number of motorists that continue to text and drive to see that greater awareness of how to use in car-technology responsibly is needed," Mr Bizley concluded.

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21 Dec 2009