Munching (49 per cent ), chatting on the phone (34 per cent ), texting (19 per cent ) and smoking (15 per cent ) are the top four distractions Irish motorists confess to while behind the wheel. The findings are part of a new Skoda Ireland study released to mark the launch of its new 4x4 range.
Driving Skills and car maintenance
The Skoda Ireland study revealed that two in five (40 per cent ) Irish motorists believe that they are a better driver than their partner. Unsurprisingly, men boast the clear majority in driving confidence with 49 per cent stating they have superior driving skills to their partner compared to just 16 per cent of women.
Despite this, male drivers were more likely to have broken the speed limit. More male participants (64 per cent ) than females (45 per cent ) admitted to driving at speeds of 140, 160, 180, and 200 km/h. Alarmingly, 9 per cent of participants - all male - admitted to driving at speeds above 200km/h.
One in 10 (10 per cent ) of Irish motorists admitted to damaging another person’s vehicle while parking. While more than half waited to confess to the other driver, almost one in five offenders (18 per cent ) drove off without telling anybody.
The survey revealed stark gender differences with regards to certain car maintenance tasks. One in five (20 per cent ) motorists surprisingly revealed they cannot change a spare wheel. Some 37 per cent of female participants confessed to being unable to change a wheel compared with 2 per cent of males. One in four (25 per cent ) female participants said they had never checked the oil in their car.
Winter driving
Motorists revealed interesting winter driving habits. With regards to de-frosting the car on cold mornings, sensibly 72 per cent of those surveyed used the in-car heater, 42 per cent used a de-icer kit, while a risky 26 per cent poured boiling water over the windscreen.
During the chaos of last year’s freezing winter, two in three (66 per cent ) participants chose to drive to work regardless of the snow and ice, followed by 23 per cent of motorists who instead worked from home and 23 per cent who opted to use public transport. Encouragingly, only 8 per cent of motorists surveyed opted to pull a duvet day during last year’s treacherous winter weather.
Other findings
One in 10 motorists (11 per cent ) has picked up a hitch hiker. Of all men questioned, 18 per cent have at one stage picked up hitch hikers compared with just 5 per cent of all females. There was a noticeable difference between Dublin and country drivers with 22 per cent of drivers in the Connacht/Ulster region picking up a hitch hiker compared with just 4 per cent of drivers in the capital.
Almost one in four motorists (24 per cent ) admitted to having spent a night in their car. In terms of age, the 25-34 age bracket came out on top (34 per cent ) while men were nearly three times (36 per cent ) more likely to have done so than women (13 per cent ).
When asked what fellow road users irritated them most, boy racers took the top spot with 59 per cent of the vote, followed by Sunday drivers (31 per cent ), and cyclists (9 per cent ). Surprisingly, 23 per cent of 18-24 year olds surveyed detested cyclists the most.
Skoda open week
From Monday last, Skoda Ireland have been holding an open week at their dealerships nationwide. It runs from tNovember 1-6. Skoda Ireland tells us that they will give away a handy free winter driving pack to anyone who test drives a new Skoda 4x4 model during the open week.
