I’m not sure the perfect driver exists. But although we all make the occasional driving error, a recent survey has revealed frightening levels of rule-breaking on Irish roads.
The roadside survey, carried out by Continental Tyres, looked at motorist behaviour at some of Ireland’s busiest roundabouts. It found that drivers often ignore the rules of the road and display a worrying lack of understanding of the correct etiquette at roundabouts.
Of several hundred vehicles observed, an astonishing 70 percent of drivers committed some sort of error as they entered and exited the busy roundabouts. Almost one in seven drivers failed to indicate correctly, 28 percent failed to yield and 28 percent used the roundabout lanes incorrectly. Some drivers committed several different errors.
Male and female drivers were almost equally at fault, with just over 52 percent of mistakes committed by male drivers. Older – and presumably more experienced – drivers (aged 60-80 years) were the most likely to navigate roundabouts correctly, while middle-aged drivers (aged 40-59 years) were the worst offenders.
Paddy Murphy, General Manager of Continental Tyres Ireland said: “The fact that roundabout usage is amply covered in the Rules of the Road and given the high profile RSA campaign in relation to roundabouts, we were surprised to see our survey reveal such a high level of non-observance of roundabout etiquette.”
So maybe it’s time to root out that Rules of the Road book that’s been lurking at the back of the bookshelf…There’s bound to be some aspect of driving we could each do with brushing up on - if in doubt flick straight to the section on roundabouts!
Brought to you by AXA Car Insurance Ireland