Kids Are Bigger Threat to Safe Driving

While the debate rumbles on about whether hands-free phone calls are safe to take whilst driving, new research reveals that that the number one distraction to drivers is in fact their own children.

Research conducted by motoring website, ContractHireAndLeasing.com reveals that children are by far the biggest distraction to drivers. When website visitors were asked what they found most distracting whilst driving, child passengers came top by a significant margin, taking over half of the vote (53 per cent)*. In second place ‘taking hands-free phone calls’ polled a measly 18 per cent of the vote.

Yet opponents to the current laws on in-car phone use say that even using a phone hands-free is not safe and constitutes a dangerous distraction to the driver. Despite evidence that child passengers are more distracting than either phones or sat-nav systems (even adult passengers attracted a higher percentage of the vote at 14 per cent, than sat-navs which took 11 per cent), there has been little campaign support from road safety authorities to help motorists deal with the real in-car dangers; their own passengers.

The leading marketplace for contract hire cars thinks that advice should be given to drivers to help them plan journeys made with children so that they become aware of the need to make sure children are adequately catered for before setting off on a journey.

Likewise adult passengers need to be considerate to the task which the driver is undertaking to allow the driver to give full attention to the road.

Explains the website’s spokesperson, Richard Lawton: “Undoubtedly people require 100 per cent mental focus when behind the steering wheel. Ensuring that children have some form of entertainment in the car is one of the best things you can do to try and keep them from misbehaving whilst in the car.”

Credits: wilswong