Over half of Brits admit they are nervous holiday drivers with one in four admitting it makes them dangerous behind the wheel, a new study revealed today.
When driving on holiday, one in three motorists have had been involved in a road incident, such as traffic accidents and being booked by the police. The research of 2,000 UK motorists for Continental Tyres comes as part of its Vision Zero initiative, a commitment to reduce road accidents, injuries and fatalities worldwide. Two in five people said that they have not driven abroad because they are too anxious, with nervousness common among motorists. One in three people who don’t drive on holiday, in Britain or abroad, say it is because they are too nervous to do so.
Adding to the risks, seven in ten drivers would not bother to research foreign road laws before getting behind the wheel overseas, and 48 per cent of people who had hired a car said they did not check the condition of brakes and tyres before heading off.
Mark Griffiths, safety expert for Continental Tyres said: “This research shows that motorists can be more at risk when driving on holiday in the UK or overseas.
“It is essential for those who drive on holiday wherever they are to make sure they do simple safety checks and consider what the rules of the road are for their holiday location.
“It is also important that people drive when calm and alert so that their attention is on the road and their driving ability not compromised. If they need to take a break to be settled, then finding a safe place to do that makes sense.”
The dangers of holiday driving do exist as one in ten drivers say they have had a road accident on holiday, and one in five, a near miss. Eight out of ten motorists have had a bad experience while driving on holiday – such as getting lost, arguing with passengers or being caught speeding.
The study also found that 1.8 million Brits never check their tyres and 2.7 million drivers only check when they have their service or MOT coming up. When TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation, recently studied 340,000 tyres, it revealed that 10 million vehicles could be driving with an illegal tyre in 2016.
The holiday driving hells top ten:
- Getting lost
- Bad weather
- Adult passengers – arguing with the driver about directions
- Demanding children
- Being overtired
- Adult passengers – commenting on your driving
- Nervousness when driving
- Passengers being ill
- Car mechanical problems
- Hurrying to get a flight / ferry / train / coach
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