Eating is Australia's most common dangerous driving

When you think about dangerous driving behaviour, what typically springs to mind are the classics: drink driving, speeding and general recklessness on the road. Often the overlooked are the dangers which lie within the car.

A recently released Safe Driving Report, which surveyed over 1,800 Australian drivers, found an enormous 70% of drivers are participating in potentially dangerous activities behind the wheel. Surprisingly, the most common dangerous habits were eating takeaway (47%), sending a text message (28%) and picking up the phone to answer a call (27%).

Worryingly, the report found parents of young children (aged 10 and under) were over four times more likely to text and drive (43%) than those with adult children (9%). Nearly one in seven drivers (14%) drive with their knees, while nearly 1 in 10 drivers (9%) admitted to having had a microsleep behind the wheel.

Those who selected “other” were offered the chance to submit their own activities, which included electric shaving behind the wheel, killing spiders and challenging themselves to drive for as long as possible with their eyes closed.

South Australia is the safest state according to the report, with one in three drivers (33%) never doing anything distracting behind the wheel. This is compared to Western Australia, where three quarters of drivers (75%) admitted to participating in risky activities.

Roads & Maritime NSW reported that distractions account for around 14% of crashes, and one in three of these distractions are internal. With such a high percentage of Australian drivers admitting to partaking in risky behaviours, perhaps this calls for even more awareness of safety behind the wheel.

While eating and driving may not seem that bad, the shift of focus it causes is dangerous. Concentration is absolutely necessary when it comes to safe driving. Drivers should also be aware that their comprehensive car insurance policy may not provide any cover for accidents which occur as a result of negligence.

The top 10 dangerous things that Australian drivers are doing behind the wheel:
1. Eating takeaway (47%)
2. Sending text messages (28%)
3. Answering calls directly to their ear (27%)
4. Smoking (20%)
5. Reaching back to deal with a child (19%)
6. Driving with their knees (14%)
7. Having a microsleep (9%)
8. Applying makeup (8%)
9. Changing clothes (7%)
10. Reading the newspaper/a book (3%)

Source: Safe Driving Report 2017