Dangerous overtaking is the most disliked driving habit among people in Ireland, according to a recent survey conducted by Peopl Insurance.
Nearly three in ten respondents (27pc ) cited this behaviour as the most inconsiderate action behind the wheel, closely followed by failure to use indicators, which almost one in four (24pc ) reported as their most disliked driving behaviour. Driving too fast is the third most annoying driving habit. The survey also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents (98pc ) always wear their seatbelts while driving.
The research found that Ireland’s top five most disliked driving habits are:
Dangerous overtaking
Not using an indicator
Driving too fast
Driving too slow
Not letting other drivers out.
“Dangerous overtaking and driving too fast are two of the most vexing driving habits in Ireland according to our survey. If you've ever driven on Ireland's regional and local roads, you've likely witnessed how quickly an accident could occur due to impatient drivers attempting to overtake other motorists on narrow roads with limited visibility. With this in mind, it is worrying that the latest CSO figures show that speeding accounts for three-quarters of penalty point notices issued in Ireland - and men appear to be the biggest culprits," commenting on the survey findings, Paul Walsh, CEO of Peopl Insurance, said.
The latest CSO data shows the number of penalty point notices issued to Westmeath motorists for speeding came to 3,660 in 2021. Male drivers in the county received 60pc more points than their female counterparts – 2,257 and 1,403 respectively.
In the same year, 74 notices were issued to Westmeath drivers of passenger vehicles for failure to wear their seat belt, with men much more likely than women to get penalty points for this offence.
“Interestingly, about one in seven people we asked (13pc ) said not wearing a seatbelt is the bad driving habit that irritates them most and I think people might actually be surprised to learn that over 70 motorists in Westmeath in 2021 were issued with penalty point notices for exactly this. Again, men appear to be far more likely to break the rules – receiving 64 of the 74 penalty point endorsement notices.”
“Overall, the results of our survey suggest that women are more likely to experience anxiety towards driving habits that have the potential to endanger lives, such as driving too fast, while men are more annoyed by discourteous driving behaviours, such as not letting people out," Mr Walsh added.
Highlights from the Peopl Insurance Annoying Driving Habits Survey include:
Older respondents appear to be more sensitive to dangerous overtaking on the road – 32pc of those aged 55+ cited this as the most annoying driving habit compared to just 9pc of those aged between 25 and 34.
Twice as many people in the 25 to 34 age group (23pc ) as in the group aged 35 to 44 (11pc ) were annoyed by motorists who drive slowly.
Men are much less tolerant of drivers who don’t move off when the light turns green than women are, with 6pc of men irked by this compared to 1pc of women.
Men are also more likely than women to be aggravated by drivers who don’t let other motorists out, with 10pc of men identifying this as the most annoying driving trait compared to only 6pc of women.
The youngest (aged 18 to 24 ) and oldest (age 55 plus ) age groups are the most compliant with the rule to belt up, with these age categories saying they wore their seatbelt ‘100pc of the time’. By contrast, those aged between 35 and 44 are the most likely to slip up on the seatbelt rule as a higher proportion of this category said they wore their seatbelt ‘most of the time’.
