Texting, Tweeting, eating lunch: Millennials admit to major distractions behind the wheel
While millennials admitted to behaving badly behind the wheel, many still have clean driving records.
Almost half of all 18 to 35 year olds admit to engaging in dangerous and illegal habits behind the wheel.
New research from insurer Budget Direct has found that 45 per cent of those surveyed admit to eating or posting to social media while driving, and 61 per cent said they used rear-view or vanity mirrors to “check themselves out” while on the move.
The survey of 1000 drivers from around Australia also found young drivers admit to denting parked cars (15 per cent), and not coming to a full halt at a stop sign (18 per cent).
Despite this, 80 per cent of 18 to 35 year olds consider themselves to be “good drivers”, which seems to align with the statistics that say roughly 80 per cent have not received any demerit penalties on their licenses. 86 per cent have not been fined for speeding in the past year.
Budget Direct’s General Manager of Motor Claims, Sean McBride, says that while “it’s tempting to try and use our time in the car as an opportunity to get a few things done” his advice is to avoid “illegal habits” which can put “yourself and other drivers at risk”.
Upcoming driver attention technologies which use infrared or visual-spectrum cameras on the inside of the vehicle to track driver’s attention levels and drowsiness should help to curtail such behaviours as they become standard in more affordable vehicles.
The technology is becoming available in many variants of popular vehicles, including the Subaru Forester range, as well as various sub-$40k Kia and Hyundai models.
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