What has lockdown done to your driving?
Recent research has identified that drivers are apprehensive about getting back on the roads and that they feel that they are worse drivers as a result of lockdown.
Bad Behaviours
- 44% of motorists admitting to picking up dangerous driving habits over the past year
- 22% say they now frequently – and dangerously – steer one-handed
- 15% admit they drive ‘far too quickly’
- 12% say they are more easily distracted behind the wheel
- 14% have ‘completely forgotten how to drive their car’
- 10% say they can’t remember a single thing from their driving theory test
In the UK-wide poll of 2,000 people, 40% say they’ve travelled less than 2,500 miles since March 2020, compared with just 11% in the year before.
Confidence
Research by SEAT found the equivalent of almost 10 million drivers felt more apprehensive about a return to the roads.
- 44% of the drivers who do feel more nervous said it was due to a lack of driving practice over the last year
- 24% of drivers say they’re less confident about driving following a year of lockdowns
The research also reveals that:
- 18-24 age group is the most nervous over driving
- 33% stating they now feel less confident compared to the overall 24% figure for all drivers.
- 38% feel less confident about parking compared to an average of 26% for all age groups.
- 27% of drivers stated that the return of other drivers who might be out of practice was 11% said they were worried that they might be out of practice
What are the top worries?
- being able to get to the end location on time (24%)
- returning to long car journeys (15%)
- commuting (11%)
- fatigue while driving (11%)
Stats published last week by the Department for Transport revealed that road traffic in the UK returned to pre-pandemic levels during the last week of May 2021.
Comment
Tony Greenidge, CEO of IAM RoadSmart, 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] are no different.”
John French, head of product at Seat UK, said:
“For much of the past 14 months, millions of motorists across the UK have been confined to their local area, driving on roads they’re acquainted with. Now, following the lifting of most social distancing restrictions, drivers are once again navigating unfamiliar places and faced with high volumes of traffic, tight parking spaces and certain road types they’ve perhaps become unaccustomed to.”
How Can Cambrian Help?
Do you feel that a recent lack of ‘at the wheel’ time is affecting your fleet? Has lockdown affected your driver’s performance? If so, we offer a range of telematics devices that help enable fleet managers to see where and how fleet vehicles are being driven. As a part of our range, we offer the TrakM8 RH600 telematics device which has an integral Econ lightbar. The lightbar changes from green to red to give drivers a visual indicator of how well they are driving. It judges drives based on acceleration, harsh braking, cornering speed and idling length.
To find out more go to https://www.cambriancards.com/telematics/
What has lockdown done to your driving?