Bad Driving Habits Common, Car Insurer Finds

Shockingly poor driving habits on Britain's roads were exposed today by Sainsbury's Car Insurance.

Many dangerous actions were found to be prevalent among motorists while they were on the road, with 41 percent confessing to eating and drinking and 28 percent saying that they have used their car whilst feeling tired. Drivers distracted or otherwise impaired from these actions not only put themselves at a higher risk of causing an accident, but might also find themselves unable to claim for such accidents on their car insurance due to their dangerous behaviour.

Around 4.2 million people, or 14 percent of drivers, were also found by Sainsbury's to have used their mobile phone handsets while driving; this is despite the fact that they can be fined, given penalty points and even imprisoned by police if they are caught or cause an accident while doing so.

Worse still, 11 percent even admitted having sent text messages on their phones while driving, an action which requires looking away from the road at their handset. Its prevalence comes despite the recent high-profile case of Rachel Begg, the 19-year-old who was imprisoned last year after colliding with an elderly woman while driving at 70mph near her home.

The woman, Maureen Waites, died of extensive internal injuries; it later emerged that Ms Begg was sending a text message on her phone at the time of impact.