The credit crunch is said to be leading to Britons feeling more tired in their day-to-day lives - driving up car accident rates and insurance premiums.
Motorist fears over the recession are having an effect on the car insurance sector, one cover provider has warned.
Norwich Union said that the credit crunch-induced downturn - which has led to increased pressure on household budgets, tighter borrowing conditions for mortgages, loans and cards and rising unemployment rates - was making the typical driver more stressed and fatigued. Specifically, the insurer said that money worries and job insecurity were driving up the risk of accidents and increasing car insurance claims numbers.
According to figures cited by Norwich Union, around one in ten of all car accidents are caused by driver fatigue.
Meanwhile, recent unemployment figures show that the UK's jobless total is at a decade-long high of 2.03 million. Hundreds of thousands more people are expected to be made redundant over the months to come - with one business group saying recently that unemployment would top out at 3.2 million in 2010.
Mike Smith, commercial motor technical manager at Norwich Union, said: "Employees may be feeling the pressure to keep their job by working longer hours. Doing that extra run or long journey home at the end of a busy day can increase the possibility of feeling tired at the wheel."
Around 3,000 people a year die on UK roads due to car accidents.
