23 November 2011
Half of us think a family member drives too fast
According to research by AA Driving School, half (51%) of drivers have a family member who drives too fast. A quarter (26%) said they have a colleague who does this.
Over half (56%) said that they have a family member who is scared of driving on motorways, while a third (35%) said that they have a family member who drives whilst using a mobile phone, eating, shaving or doing make-up.
Young drivers (18-to-24) are more critical of their friends’ driving than any other age group.
Three quarters (74%) of 18-to-24-year-olds said they have a friend who drives too fast; 70% said they have a friend who ‘tailgates’ and 79% have a friend who drives while using a mobile, shaving, eating or doing their make-up.
Drivers over 65 were far less likely to have a friend they think drives too fast (43%), tailgates (48%) or drives while using a mobile, shaving, eating or doing their make-up (50%).
There is no way someone would pass their driving test if they displayed these types of behaviour, so there is no place for it on our roads
Edmund king, AA president
Edmund King, AA President, said: “A worrying number of us think our friends, families and colleagues have illegal and dangerous driving habits.
“Young people are particularly likely to have noticed dangerous driving habits amongst their friends.
“There is no way someone would pass their driving test if they displayed these types of behaviour, so there is no place for it on our roads.”
Conversely, when questioned about their own driving skills, most motorists were confident of their abilities. 71% said they were ‘quite’ or ‘very’ good at sticking to speed limits and when it comes to tailgaters; 89% said there were ‘quite’ or very good at keeping a safe distance.
The emergency services said if I had been going faster, like I used to drive, then one of us involved in the crash wouldn’t have made it
Louise Collis
Reading grandmother Louise Collis, 47, has turned her dangerous driving habits around in time for Road Safety Week – but only after a driving course and a nasty crash made her re-asses her habits.
Louise has always loved driving in her Jaguar and on her Harley Davidson motorbike. But her husband Shaun worried about her driving – particularly her speed – and persuaded her to take an AA Charitable Trust course to check her driving was safe. The verdict from AA Driving School instructor Antony Kypros was that she drove far too fast and she had to control her speed.
And, a few weeks later, Louise says this advice saved her life.
She said: “I was driving down a lane and momentarily lost concentration while turning into a side road.
“I ended up hitting a car head-on and then spinning into the car behind me.
“Because of the course I was only doing about 15 miles per hour. The emergency services said if I had been going faster, like I used to drive, then one of us involved in the crash wouldn’t have made it.”
The crash left Louise with internal bruising, a badly broken wrist and broken ribs.
Louise said: “The crash really impacted my confidence and showed me just how dangerous driving too fast could have been.
“Now me and Shaun have switched roles and I’m always telling him to slow down.”
Louise’s story will be shown on Channel 5 in Dangerous Drivers’ School on Wednesday, November 23rd.
(23 November 2011)
Survey results from an AA/Populus panel survey of 16,961 AA members between 21st and 28th September.
