Warrantywise has conducted a survey to find out what the public believe to be the most dangerous driving offences.

Those surveyed believed that by far the most serious offence was driving under the influence, with 67% of respondents listing this at the top.

Ranked next highest with just 10% was ignoring traffic lights and 9% using mobile devices whilst driving.

Warrantywise said it was surprising that this ranked third considering a study it conducted earlier in the year revealed that mobile phone use behind the wheel was classed as the biggest pet hate by motorists.

The full results are below:
• Driving under influence 67%
• Ignoring Traffic Lights 10%
• Mobile Devices 9%
• Driving Too Fast 5%
• Smoking/Eating 2%
• Driving Too Slowly 2%
• Dangerous Overtaking 2%

Although it was expected that people would rate driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol highly, it’s interesting to note almost 70% of the respondents chose it as such a priority offence over others on the list.

Richard Hodges, marketing manager at Warrantywise, said: “We are always interested to hear the views of motorists, but we are surprised that so few see the use of mobile phones while driving a serious problem.”

Breaking down some of the lower offences, 70% of people admit to eating behind the wheel, yet only 2% of people surveyed consider this to be dangerous. The same percentage accounted for ‘dangerous’ overtaking/undertaking manoeuvres.

Still shocking certainly, but compare this to speeding. Whilst only 5% of respondents rated this as the most dangerous offence, it shows people gravely underestimate the hazard it represents.

Currently, fatalities caused by speeding number approximately 400 people each year, 100 more than driving under the influence.
 

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