If you don’t use it, you’re in the minority…
Despite repeated road safety warnings, a whopping 84% of Irish drivers admit to using electronic devices while they’re driving their vehicles.
Four out of five (84%) Irish drivers admit to using electronic devices or consulting maps while driving compared to 66% of drivers in the UK.
That’s according to recent research commissioned by Aviva which looked at driving habits across 13 countries around the world.
The study was carried out by IPSOS Mori on behalf of Aviva, and made some very worrying discoveries about Irish drivers and their relationships with technology while driving.
Other key findings in the study found that:
- 45% of Irish drivers admit to making a phone call while driving compared to just 20% in the UK. That figure rises to 63% in the USA and as high as 76% in China.
- 26% of Irish drivers admit to sending text messages while driving, compared to 13% in the UK, while Indonesian drivers are the most likely to send a text while driving at 53%.
- 15% of Irish drivers admit to checking / posting to social media while driving. The UK had the lowest rate with 7% admitting to this practice, while Indian drivers fared the worst at 41%.
- 11% of Irish drivers admit to viewing or uploading images to social media while driving. This figure is as low as 4% in the UK and as high as 37% in India.
- 66% of Irish drivers admit choosing to music while at the wheel. This figure falls to 45% in Spain while the country with the highest rate for this practice is China at 74%
- 35% of Irish drivers admit to entering information into a satnav system while driving. This figure drops to 26% in India and goes up to 52% in Turkey.
Speaking on the study, Michael Bannon, Underwriting Manager with Aviva Motor Insurance, said: “It is shocking to find that so many drivers are taking such risks, given all that we know about road safety.
“Just a split second of distraction or lapse in concentration can result in death on the road. Technology has revolutionised our lives for the better in very many respects but when it comes to road safety its ability to distract can prove lethal.”
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