The motoring habits driving us mad!
Kwik Fit | Monday 14th August 2017 9:00am
Do you get cheesed off when other drivers don’t use their indicators? Does it make your blood boil when people hog the middle lane on the motorway? If the answer is a resounding “YES!” our latest research has found that you’re probably not alone. We polled 2,000 British adult motorists to find out their top driving irritations and to highlight the importance of being considerate to other road users. In amongst the usual suspects like tailgating and speeding, the findings showed that modern-day pet peeves like texting at the wheel and taking selfies in traffic are quickly climbing the list of annoying habits.
But rather than just tell you the results we thought we’d play out some of the scenarios, not with irate, potty-mouthed adults but with some altogether more loveable, innocent drivers!
Over half (57%) of Brits surveyed said that being tailgated by other road users is the biggest driving annoyance, whilst aggressive driving (55%) and failing to indicate (53%) also grinds their gears and make up the top 3.
Despite the introduction of tougher laws around using a mobile phone behind the wheel, our research shows that digital devices continue to distract drivers, with texting at the wheel (47%), using social media whilst driving (31%) and taking selfies (24%) featuring in the top 20 modern day driving nuisances. In March, the penalty was increased to six points and a £200 fine and drivers who have passed their test in the past 2 years face losing their licence completely.
And yet it seems we are unaware of our own bad habits on the road - Nine in ten (93%) Brits believe that other drivers are to blame and are oblivious to other road users, whereas nine in ten (95%) respondents believed themselves to be respectful road users!
Brit's Top 20 Modern Day Driving Irritations
Here are the results of our survey in full to find out what really gets on our wick in 2017:
| Rank | Irritation | % of Drivers |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Tailgating | 57% |
| #2 | Aggressive driving | 55% |
| #3 | Not indicating | 53% |
| #4 | Inconsiderate parking | 50% |
| #5 | Texting at the wheel | 47% |
| #6 | Lack of courtesy (saying thank you to fellow road users) | 46% |
| #7 | Changing lanes at the last second | 45% |
| #8 | Littering - throwing junk out of the window | 43% |
| #9 | Hogging the middle lane | 41% |
| #10 | Last minute braking | 40% |
| #11 | Dawdling drivers | 32% |
| #12 | Using social media whilst driving | 31% |
| #13 | Undertaking | 30% |
| #14 | Speeding | 30% |
| #15 | Not obeying the 'right of way' signs | 29% |
| #16 | Not letting other cars in a lane | 28% |
| #17 | Horn-happy drivers e.g. beeping the horn at traffic lights | 27% |
| #18 | Not giving pedestrians right of way at a zebra crossing | 25% |
| #19 | Taking selfies while in traffic | 24% |
| #20 | Road users being rude to cyclists | 19% |
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