UK NEWS

CHILDREN FEEL LESS SAFE IF MUM DRIVING

Mum's driving can make children scared

Thursday May 24,2007

By Padraic Flanagan

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EVERY woman reckons she’s a much safer driver than her man, even though she would never dream of saying it.

But according to her children she’s wrong. They feel safer with dad behind the wheel, a study has revealed.

Researchers found that 47 per cent of children feel unsafe with their mother driving, compared with 39 per cent who don’t feel safe with dad at the wheel. And nine per cent of children have been in an accident with mum driving, against eight per cent with their father.

But despite both parents insisting that they drive more carefully with their offspring in the car, many youngsters still feel at risk in the family vehicle whichever one is driving.

The study for Privilege Insurance, which questioned 500 children across Britain, found the most common complaint was mum being bad at parking (24 per cent) followed by dad driving too fast (21 per cent).

Puzzlingly, although children felt safer with dad driving, 12 per cent had near misses with him at the wheel, against nine per cent with their mother.

Dads are more likely to drive after a drink than mums – eight per cent of children told of fathers drinking and driving, against only two per cent saying the same about their mother. Just six per cent complained that mum drove too fast.

Jennifer Culley, of Privilege Insurance, said: “With almost one in 20 children scared by their parents’ driving, grown-ups need to drive even more carefully and follow the rules of the road.

“Driving safely will help to put children’s minds at ease, as well as demonstrating how they should drive in the future.”

The report adds that when parents were asked about their own driving habits, in a previous study by Privilege, 58 per cent claimed they drove more carefully when their children were in the car.

What do YOU think? Are men better drivers than women? Comment NOW on Have Your Say.

ITS NOT REALLY A QUESTION THAT DESERVES AND ANSWER1

24.05.07, 1:20pm

The percentage of bad female or male drivers are roughly equal it is nothing to do with the sex of the driver.

Although like myself I am sure that many men have condemned women driver's more frequently in front of their children, "Damn women driver's!"

When I criticise a man's driving I am not usually that polite and may be forced to bite my tongue in front of the children on the grounds that certain language is not suitable to be used in company!

Could this possible explain or cloud a child's perception of this matter, I wonder?

• Posted by: The_Way_I_See_It • Report Comment

WHO'S THE BETTER DRIVER?

24.05.07, 10:33am

With more than fifty years driving experience (now retired) I was licenced to drive motor bikes, cars, buses, coaches and class 1 heavy goods vehicles both in this country and world wide and therefore feel I am well qualified to speak with some authority on the subject of who's the better drivers, men or women! But first let me say I felt very angry when watching a programme on TV in which JOE BRAND, the comedienne, had the cheek to suggest that "all" drivers over seventy should take a secomd driving test! To prove her point she highlighted a 100 years old driver, a woman driver with poor eyesight and another eccentric lady, age? who took a short cut in her electric invalide buggy down the hard shoulder of a motorway, (a bit crazy to say the least) Joe Brand also said that older drivers were responsible for far more accidents than those under the age of seventy!
This is in fact untrue as "age Concern" and all insurance companies will confirm, the latter giving discounts to drivers over the age of 50. This television programme was based solely on the biased opinion the "comedienne" which in itself speaks many volumes! I would particularly question her own possible reactions in the case of an emergency stop as her sad, very slow, and "drawling" voice suggests there would be a worrying response in such a situation! As an older driver I would willingly compare my driving skills against hers at any day of the week. Now with that off my chest to get down to who is the better drivers and I really don't think there is much in it, however I must point out one very serious fault of many Lady drivers who don't seem to understand that where there are obstructions in the road, ie, parked vehicles, the driver approaching the obstruction on their side "must give way" to oncoming traffic. This driving offence I have noticed is a regular failing of so many women drivers who seem to be quite oblivious to the danger they are creating! Otherwise it's true to say "we all" become very different animals when we get into the driving seat of our cars, we somehow believe we are most certainly "the best"!
ALROY.

• Posted by: alroy • Report Comment