It’s quite funny, I consider myself to be a good driver and not easily distracted. But there are things that can be a distraction. Namely things I have noticed since the children have been born – tiredness is a huge distraction and dangerous. When I am tired I have to open the windows to get fresh air and put something on the radio I can sing along too. Needless to say I have only had to do that once or twice, it’s not fun for us drivers.
At the moment I have a problem with my car, whereby if I undo the window I cannot guarantee it will go back up. I took Isla to the theatre just recently and the window wouldn’t close. Thankfully the car park I was in, the security guard said they would keep an eye on my car so that we could enjoy the show. Then half way home, in the freeze of the night, the car window closed. It is quite scary when things like that happen. Especially when little children are involved. It was a huge distraction whilst I was driving around Milton Keynes.
For me, the most frustrating thing when I am driving is the children in the back of the car – when they are bickering. If they are arguing in the back seat and I am trying to drive I cannot concentrate. It is the biggest distraction by far and it makes me want to cry. I have to scream at them sometimes to stop it, reminding them I am trying to drive us safely to our destination. I do not understand why they don’t realise this automatically. I shouldn’t have to point it out to them – but I do. When I remind them of the safety implications of them bickering, they usually stop. I wish I didn’t have to get to that stage though before they quiet down.
Lease car have done a recent survey to find out what the most annoying things to drivers are and they created some fun stats on what people think are a distraction whilst driving, the most popular and things to avoid:
I love this infographic, I am surprised that bickering children wasn’t picked up by people as being a distraction. However, 30% of people found that talking to their children via the rear-view mirror is a distraction.
What do you find are the most annoying things for us drivers? I would love to know in the comments below or on social media: @mummyconstant.
