Nearly 100,000 crashes were caused last year by drivers taking to the wheel after a long break from driving, as new research reveals the serious impact of driving breaks on accident rates.
Lloyds TSB Insurance commissioned road safety experts to examine the roadworthiness of licensed motorists who had not driven for six months or more. Participants were put through a series of tests to measure vehicle control, reaction times and observation.
On average, these motorists made four times as many serious safety errors as regular drivers, increasing their crash risk by a quarter.1
The insurer estimates that 98,000 accidents last year can be directly attributed to lack of driving practice, causing over £200 million worth of damage.2 Yet public awareness of the risks is low, with half a million ‘rusty drivers’ planning to take to the road in the next 12 months.3
Driver ability in all key areas is impaired, according to the findings, with serious deficiencies in observation (86 per cent), speeding discipline (27 per cent), clutch control (33 per cent) and steering (13 per cent).
Crash risk is also heightened by the length of the driving ‘break’, with those taking to the wheel after a year nearly twice as likely to have an accident.
And although the experiment revealed no marked difference in performance between the sexes, further research suggests women are more likely to take extended driving breaks than men (58 per cent vs. 42 per cent).
Commenting on the research, Karen McCarthy of Lloyds TSB Insurance, said:
“There is no substitute for practice and anyone thinking of getting behind the wheel after a long break needs to think really carefully about the risks. A simple refresher lesson or practice in a low traffic area can make a huge difference to your confidence and road awareness.”
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Notes to editors
Experiment methodology
1. The driving study was carried out by research agency PCP, who tested a sample of 40 drivers in vehicles driving under controlled conditions with a road safety expert. 20 drivers were regular drivers (had driven in last two weeks) and 20 drivers had had breaks from driving of between six months and five years.
According to the road safety experts, those drivers returning after six months away were 25 per cent more likely to crash their vehicle (accumulate a critical number of errors) than regular drivers, struggling particularly with observation, control of the vehicle, pulling out (moving off safely) and speeding. At a year or more away from driving the risk was 43 per cent more than the control.
Rusty drivers made on average 55 errors, four times the allowed errors under the rules of the driving test (14 minor errors is the maximum allowed errors). 88 per cent of these drivers (approx nine in 10) would have failed had the test been an official driving test.
All other figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2000 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th August 2009 and 10th August 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
2. Of the 35.9 million British drivers, 9.17 per cent have taken a six month (or more) break from driving and returned to the wheel in the last year = 3,292,000 drivers, of these, 3 per cent had accidents soon after returning to the wheel = 98,000 (approx 100,000).
The average claim for an accident (combination of accidental damage, third party injury and property damage) comes to £2,153 (LTSBI claims data). 98,000 x £2,153 = £210,994,000 damage caused last year.
3. Of the 35.9 million Brits holding a full UK drivers licence, 8.27 per cent have not driven for six months or longer = 3 million drivers. 23 per cent of these ‘Rusty Drivers’ are planning to begin driving again in the next 12 months – 682,700 drivers.