IAM RoadSmart and Nextbase find 14 per cent have forgotten how to drive
30 June 2021
A recent survey of 1,500 British motorists by dash-cam manufacturer Nextbase, in partnership with road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, has found that the pandemic has had a negative effect on driving skills.
Key findings are as follows:
- 61% of UK drivers believe they are ‘COVID Drivers’ with car accidents increasing sharply by 22% over the late May Bank Holiday.
- 44% of drivers feel nervous about taking long-distance drives post-lockdown.
- 38% of those surveyed expect to see an increase in road rage due to a traffic increase post lockdown.
- 42% confessed their driving skills were more than a little rusty following a decrease in their time spent on the road.
- 29% of UK drivers said they are worrying about motorway driving now.
- 26% of drivers said they feel more pressure driving now, due to busier roads.
- 22% said they steer one-handed.
- 15% said they drive far too quickly.
- One in 10 (14%) say they have completely forgotten how to drive their car.
- One in ten (11%) of those polled insisted they cannot remember a single thing from their theory test.
- 14% admitted they see signs on the road every day which they do not understand.
- 12% confessed to getting easily distracted when in the car.
In light of these figures, Head of Driving & Riding Standards & Product Development for IAM RoadSmart Richard Gladman provided some tips to ‘combat those bad post Lockdown habits’, which you can find here.
Government statistics, published in November 2020, also reflect an increase in bad driving habits as speeding offences rose by 7 per cent during the UK’s first lockdown in March 2020. During this period, speeding in London increased by 142 per cent.
CEO of IAM RoadSmart Tony Greenidge said, “It was inevitable that lockdown would leave many drivers and riders with confidence issues, stress and rusty skills due to their enforced break from the roads. With any skill you learn, you need to improve and refresh it to remain top of your game. Driving and riding [a motorcycle] is no different.”
We at Marshall Leasing are always interested in the latest news and statistics about road safety, and trust that you find this information interesting.
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