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Irish Times today - drivers overconfident & breaking law

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  • 01-12-2004 11:54pm
    #1
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,760 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/motoring/2004/1201/1746905513MOT01LEAD.html
    Confident drivers still breaking laws: survey
    Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor

    Irish motorists seem very confident in their driving abilities, yet admit to committing road traffic offences such as speeding, drink driving and breaking red lights, according to a new national survey on motorists' driving behaviour and attitudes.

    The survey of 1,110 motorists reveals that 77.9 per cent knowingly break the speed limit, while 22.7 per cent admit to driving after consuming alcohol. Ironically, those surveyed also identified speeding and alcohol as two of the main causes of road accidents.
    The measured figure for speeding in some urban areas is actually 98%
    A further 24 per cent of car drivers use restricted bus lanes regularly or on occasion, 38.6 per cent have driven on the hard shoulder, while 27.2 per cent have driven through a red light either regularly or on occasion.

    Despite the admissions of guilt, more than 86 per cent of motorists described themselves as excellent, good or very good drivers. Fewer than 11 per cent rate themselves as average drivers, and only 0.6 per cent said they were poor drivers.
    Unreal only ~ 3% below average, that's only a fraction of the number of people driving out there that haven't passed their test (3+11+86=100) - by definition most people are average, so most of those 86% are not very observant or good at evaluating other road users behaviour or delusion.
    In terms of speeding, drivers between the ages of 24 and 35 seem the worst offenders, with 84.9 admitting to speeding and 48.1 per cent exceeding the limit by more than 5mph. Women were less likely to offend, and less likely to exceed the limit by less than 5mph.
    from what I heard elsewhere young female drivers on their own in a car are notorious for speeding.
    13 per cent admitted they had nodded off at the wheel of their vehicle.
    © The Irish Times
    13% Scary considering how they underestimated the speeding and number of drivers on the road as good or better than themselves, also you don't always realise if you've nodded off. The entomology is kinda scary - it referred to falling off public transport.


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