• Drivers in Bristol are the menace of Britain’s roads
• Using a mobile phone and not indicating are the worst habits seen in drivers
   

According to a new study of UK drivers by Privilege car insurance, drivers in Bristol are the rudest in the UK.

When driving offences were analysed, Bristol’s drivers were named as the worst offenders in a quarter of all categories, with 70 per cent seeing other drivers using a mobile phone (without a hands-free kit), 65 per cent reporting other drivers not indicating or driving too fast, and over half (51 per cent) seeing drivers constantly change lanes to get ahead.

Bristol’s drivers are closely tailgated in the study by Liverpudlians and drivers in Norwich.

Other offences noted included pulling out in front of other drivers, taking up too much space on the road, blaring their horn unnecessarily, and not observing right of way.

When it comes to Brits admitting their own bad driving habits, as opposed to those they witnessed in others, Bristol came out top again, with 61 per cent of Bristolians owning up to road rudeness, compared with Londoners and Liverpudlians, where only 56 per cent claimed to have bad road manners.

Across the UK, the offences that drivers say they commit themselves include driving too fast (20 per cent), nudging into traffic when pulling out of a junction or changing lanes (ten per cent) and even driving through puddles to splash pedestrians (three per cent) – a habit that in London, a staggering one in six (16 per cent) of drivers admitted to.

The study by Privilege car insurance also found, that although Brits are known worldwide for their politeness and love of queuing, the trait appears not to translate to time behind the wheel. When asked about habits we see in other drivers, constantly changing lanes to get ahead (45 per cent), pulling out in front of other drivers (43 per cent), skipping traffic on the motorway then pushing to the front of the queue (38 per cent) and nudging into traffic when pulling out of a junction or changing lanes (31 per cent) were commonly seen.

When scrutinising driving rudeness or bad habits by gender, women over 55 were judged to be the rudest in several areas, including nudging into traffic or changing lanes, driving too slowly and driving in the wrong lane.

Men on the other hand, are the worst for cutting corners more than women, undertaking, driving down the middle of the road and taking up too much road space. 
 

Top 10 rudest cities

Source: Privilege car insurance

Top driving offences

Source: Privilege car insurance

Charlotte Fielding, Head of Privilege Car Insurance, comments:

“Inconsiderate or careless driving are two of the main causes of accidents on our roads.

“Hopefully the findings of this report will help remind people that their actions on the road do have an impact on other drivers – it’s better to get there safely than risk injuring yourself or someone else, so take a deep breath, leave a safe distance between your vehicle and the car in front, and drive at a safe speed.”
 

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For more information, please contact: Chloe French at the Direct Line Group:

[email protected] / 01651 831 715
 

Notes to editors:

Research was conducted by Opinium via online interviews amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, of which 1,348 were drivers. Research was conducted from 26th to 30th August 2016.

The “rudest city” results were derived by removing respondents that have never encountered or don’t know about driving offences in their nearest city.
 

Privilege

Privilege Insurance specialises in car insurance for safe drivers. It also offers home insurance and breakdown cover by phone or on-line.

Privilege general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Privilege and U K Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.  

Customers can find out more about Privilege’s products or get a quote by calling 0345 246 0515 or visiting www.privilege.co.uk
 

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