We reveal the region that plays home to Britain's most careless drivers...
Ever heard the urban myth about the easiest driving test centre in the world? It certainly did the rounds throughout my A-level years.
The rumour was that somewhere near Hereford stood a driving test centre where the practical motoring exams were almost impossible to fail. The story had it that so barren were the surroundings of this rural centre that the whole test area consisted of nothing more than a long country road and one set of traffic lights.
Unsurprisingly, no-one ever managed to locate this utopian test centre.
But if recent figures looking into the regional variations of poor driving behaviour are anything to go by, were this lax testing ground to exist, it could well be in my home region...
The worst region
This year’s Driver Behaviour Index, compiled by Sainsbury’s Finance looks into the safety of Britain’s roads by asking 1,548 drivers across the country to admit to various bad motoring habits. The bad behaviours included eating and drinking while behind the wheel, driving while tired, speeding, using a phone and driving without wearing any shoes (the full list is below). These were then logged according to the driver’s region.
To get a more direct idea of the regional variations within this research I calculated an average figure for every area using the percentage stats for each bad habit.
Here are the averages for each region:
|
West-Mid |
Wales |
NW |
SW |
NE |
York’s/Humber |
SE |
East-Mid |
East |
London |
Scot |
|
14% |
13% |
13% |
13% |
12% |
12% |
11% |
11% |
10% |
10% |
6% |
West-Mid, NW, East etc. refer to English regions.
Source: Sainsbury’s Car Insurance.
As you can see, it’s the West Midlands – my home region – that comes out as the worst area with neighbouring Wales along with the North-West and South West all in second place.
Now, the order of these stats is far more significant than the actual figures, as they are just averages of ten behaviour percentages. So here’s a (rather large and busy!) regional breakdown of the various percentages according to each bad driving habit...
|
Driving behaviours |
W-Mid |
Wales |
NW |
SW |
NE |
York’s/Humber |
SE |
E-Mid |
East |
L’don |
Scot |
|
Eating & drinking |
30% |
37% |
29% |
30% |
29% |
30% |
24% |
22% |
32% |
23% |
19% |
|
Fatigued |
20% |
23% |
15% |
18% |
22% |
21% |
22% |
14% |
16% |
14% |
13% |
|
Driving with no shoes |
13% |
21% |
10% |
18% |
16% |
11% |
11% |
14% |
9% |
11% |
4% |
|
Excessive speeding |
25% |
22% |
20% |
21% |
15% |
15% |
19% |
19% |
14% |
22% |
10% |
|
Using a phone |
7% |
6% |
12% |
7% |
4% |
6% |
3% |
5% |
4% |
4% |
3% |
|
Texting |
7% |
3% |
7% |
4% |
4% |
2% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
3% |
|
Operating a Sat Nav while driving |
23% |
9% |
19% |
14% |
19% |
18% |
19% |
22% |
16% |
13% |
7% |
|
Driving drunk from night before |
9% |
7% |
9% |
7% |
5% |
5% |
4% |
5% |
3% |
4% |
3% |
|
Not wearing a seat belt |
4% |
5% |
8% |
8% |
4% |
4% |
4% |
5% |
4% |
4% |
1% |
|
Driving with limited visibility |
3% |
1% |
1% |
7% |
2% |
3% |
4% |
1% |
3% |
3% |
1% |
|
Regional average |
14% |
13% |
13% |
13% |
12% |
12% |
11% |
11% |
10% |
10% |
6% |
West-Mid, NW, East etc. refer to English regions.
Source: Sainsbury’s Car Insurance.
Getting safer
There’s obviously a lot of information within these regional tables. But that doesn’t mean that the figures are 100% complete and concise. After all, the survey relies on drivers admitting to bad behaviour – raising the question, are the West Midlands' motorists really the most careless? Or just the most honest?
You’d also have to be something of an optimist to believe that there are only ten bad habits when it comes to driving. Realistically, while the Sainsbury’s survey does provide a snapshot of the nation’s motoring habits, it’s by no means the full picture.
In fact, it’s the countrywide, year-on-year percentages that raise more interesting issues than the regional figures. Take a look at this table:
|
Driving behaviours |
Percentage of drivers admitting to this behaviour in 2010 |
Percentage of drivers admitting to this behaviour in 2011 |
|
Eating & drinking |
38% |
27% |
|
Driving while fatigued |
28% |
18% |
|
Driving with no shoes (or in flip flops) |
18% |
12% |
|
Excessive speeding |
16% |
19% |
|
Using a mobile phone without a hands free kit |
11% |
6% |
|
Texting |
6% |
4% |
|
Driving while probably over the limit from the night before |
11% |
6% |
|
Driving after an alcoholic drink |
6% |
6% |
|
Not wearing a seat belt |
8% |
5% |
|
Driving with limited visibility |
8% |
2% |
|
Driving too slowly |
8% |
2% |
|
Driving while reading a map |
8% |
2% |
|
Driving with a pet loose in the vehicle |
7% |
6% |
|
Tailgating |
6% |
5% |
|
Road rage |
6% |
2% |
|
Average |
12% |
8% |
Source: Sainsbury’s Car Insurance
Yes, it appears that our roads are getting safer – with percentages for almost all of the behaviours dropping between 2010 and 2011. The stats for eating and drinking behind the wheel and driving while tired still remain relatively high, at 27% and 18% respectively. And worryingly, the only figure that has increased since 2010 is for excessive speeding – seeing a 3% rise from 16% last year to 19% this year.
So why are these rates dropping?
Well, perhaps we are just becoming more sensible when on the road. But there may be another reason...
Ballooning rates
Car insurance rates have ballooned over the last few years. According to The AA’s 2011 Insurance Premium Index, annual rates have shot up by 30.1% since June 2010, reaching an average of £923.90 a little over a month ago.
[SPOTLIGHT]And if there’s one sure way to inflate your premium even further, it’s driving carelessly. Tens of thousands of motorists get convicted of driving without due care every year. The charge carries a penalty of up to £60 but can also bump up your car insurance rate by hundreds per year.
Granted, it seems fairly pessimistic to assume that hefty car insurance premiums rather than common sense and safety have spurred on more careful driving. But still, if you can barely afford your car insurance as it is, chances are you would sharpen up your driving substantially to avoid any further hikes.
However there are other ways to save money on your car insurance premiums – head over to The 17 worst car insurance mistakes to read about them. Or go to our car insurance comparison centre to get hold of a quote and find out if you could be saving money on your policy.
Do you agree
Where have you found the most careless drivers?
Let us know using the comment box below.
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