Mirror, mirror...who's the most distracted of them all?
30/04/2009
The younger the driver, the more likely they are to check themselves out in their car mirrors while on the go, NRMA Insurance has revealed.
Nearly one in two Gen Y drivers (aged 16 to 29) in a recent survey confessed to focussing on their appearance, and not just traffic, while driving. By comparison, about one in four 30 to 39-year-olds (28 per cent) and one in five over 40s (19 per cent) admitted to similar vanity on the road.
Women proved the worst offenders with one in three (33 per cent) admitting to admiring themselves while driving, compared to one in five men (19 per cent). And one in eight women said they took their in-car grooming one step further by applying make-up.
NRMA Insurance spokesperson Frank Adler said anything more than a quick check in the mirror while stopped at lights could prove hazardous.
“With so many of us leading busy lifestyles, the car seems to have become a place where we try and catch up on other things, including grooming” he said.
“While quickly checking your hair when stopped at lights is usually harmless enough, longer tasks, such as applying make-up, take your attention away from the traffic around you."
“We need to be aware of our limits at the wheel and what can go wrong when we take our eyes off the road.”
Mr Adler said it was not just females taking their eyes off the road for the sake of their appearance, with a small number of men admitting to shaving while driving.
“A busy lifestyle shouldn’t get in the way of safe driving” he said.
“The safest option is to leave our grooming for the bathroom mirror, not the rear view one.”
* Based on Woolcott Research commissioned by NRMA Insurance February 2009.