DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

British drivers only concentrate for two thirds of their time behind the wheel, according to a new study commissioned by Continental Tyres. Six in 10 people also admit to ‘zoning out’ whilst behind the wheel with a massive 59 per cent of drivers finding they forget parts of their journey. And over half (51 per cent) switch to ‘auto-pilot mode’ on their daily commute to and from work.



The survey of 4,000 motorists for Continental Tyres found that drivers were only fully concentrating on the road for 67 per cent of the time spent at the wheel. And tuning the radio, talking to passengers and gawping at the scenery topped the list of everyday distractions.

The research found the average driver is on the road for 45 minutes a day and that they are in their own little world for 17 minutes of this time. They make an average of three trips in their car each day. They are distracted at least three times on each journey and for at least four seconds each time. At just 40 mph a car will travel over 18 metres every second.

Some 27 per cent of respondents believe their short attention span is to blame for their poor driving – with more than four in 10 being disinterested in the road ahead and not being able to concentrate for more than 37 minutes. It also emerged 45 per cent have crashed or had a close call due to being distracted whilst behind the wheel.

TOP 20 DRIVING DISTRACTIONS
1. Re-tuning the radio/inserting a CD into the player
2. Talking to a passenger
3. Looking at scenery
4. Eating
5. Listening to loud music
6. Reaching into the glovebox
7. Looking at houses
8. Drinking
9. Other drivers in cars next to you
10. Passengers asking questions
11. Texting
12. Trying to unwrap a sweet
13. Talking on the mobile phone
14. Looking at a hot girl/bloke walking down the street/in another car
15. Shop windows
16. Kids in the back seat shouting, or playing up
17. Trying to read a map
18. SATNAV
19. Looking at billboards
20. Singing

Source:Continental Tyres

A lesson or ten in tyre safety

Motorists now have access to a set of ten easy-to-follow, digitally animated tyre safety lessons which can be found on the TyreSafe website. Findings from the organisation revealed that nearly 80 percent of cars on British roads are running with incorrect tyre pressures. The set of animations cover problems associated with poorly maintained or neglected tyres, such as premature wear, increased stopping distances or additional fuel costs. As well as giving a clear explanation of how to measure tyre pressure and tread depth, together with advice about tools and cost implications.

Confused by the numbers, letters, codes and symbols on a tyre sidewall?

Considering the tyre is arguably the most important safety component on a vehicle it's alarming that a large percentage of motorists have no idea what the symbols on a tyre sidewall denote. In an attempt to help address this problem, TyreSafe has just produced a leaflet entitled Car Tyres and Your Safety, available to download from www.tyresafe.org, which contains an illustration and a simple explanation of what all the symbols, letters and numbers on a tyre's sidewall actually mean.

Win a Car | I Won This Car competition - The next generation of tires.

Win a Car | I Won This Car competition - The next generation of tires.

These don't look right! but are pretty amazing, if they're real...