Recent findings from the RAC indicate that everyday actions like conversing with passengers and daydreaming are the primary contributors to driving mistakes, outpacing more obvious distractions. The study revealed that more than 63% of respondents acknowledged making a driving error due to both internal and external distractions.
Among these distractions, over 43% admitted that conversing with passengers led to their driving mistakes. Additionally, losing focus in thought was identified as the second most common cause of errors, with over 37% of drivers admitting that this particular distraction contributed to their mistakes.
The mistakes involved neglecting to stop at a junction, exceeding the speed limit, swerving into the incorrect lane, and almost crashing into another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a cyclist, as reported by the Daily Record.
With this in mind, RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “Talking to passengers or daydreaming are so common that they aren’t perceived by drivers to be big distractions, but our research has revealed they are in fact responsible for most of the errors drivers admit to, whether that’s missing a turning, exceeding the speed limit or ending up in the wrong lane.
“While dropping an item or applying make-up are clearly extremely distracting and dangerous, they’re fortunately far less common than everyday things like talking to another passenger, an interfering thought or spotting something interesting outside the vehicle. Although your eyes are on the road, it’s easy for your mind to wander behind the wheel, especially on long journeys.”
The research reveals a significant gap between perception and reality regarding mistakes made while driving. Nearly one-fifth (18%) of respondents regarded conversing with passengers as the most significant potential distraction, whereas merely one-in-ten (11%) shared the same view about daydreaming.
The third most common distraction causing errors was observing unrelated objects outside the vehicle (33%), even though fewer than a quarter (24%) considered this a possible distraction.
Using contemporary touchscreen systems has led to drivers committing errors, with almost a third (26%) admitting to making mistakes while on the road due to them. This figure is similar to the 30% who think these systems can be distracting.
A smaller percentage (21%) indicated that using traditional car controls like knobs and buttons caused them to make a mistake while driving, ranking it as the fifth most common error. Yet, just 15% viewed this as a potential distraction.
Although 46% of drivers believed talking on the phone, which is illegal when using a handheld device, to be the greatest concentration thief, only 8% admitted that doing so actually caused them to make a mistake.
Over two-fifths (42%) of respondents believed that applying makeup or shaving could result in a driving accident; however, this was true for only 2% of drivers. Furthermore, 6% admitted to making an error while retrieving something they had dropped, in contrast to the 35% who viewed this as the biggest potential distraction.
Recent government statistics indicate that in 2023, 940 people experienced fatalities or serious injuries because drivers were distracted by activities within their vehicles. In contrast, distractions from outside the vehicle resulted in 280 deaths or serious injuries.
In light of this, Mr Dennis continued: “Distractions can have catastrophic consequences for both drivers themselves and other road users, especially in extreme instances like failing to stop at a junction or at a red light or crossing.
“The practice of driving is second nature for many of us, but our research suggests things we do without thinking in the car have far more potential to cause us to make errors than we might realise.
“Driving is still a very mentally demanding task, especially as we need to be able to react to what’s in front in a split-second, so it’s important we do everything we can to stay alert and minimise distractions.”