Our wheely bad habits

NEARLY three out of four Victorian drivers admit to potentially dangerous activities while behind the wheel, a new study has found.

The study of more than 1800 Australian drivers found the most common risky habits of Victorians were eating takeaway food (46 per cent), picking up a phone to answer a call (30 per cent) and sending a text message (29 per cent).

Reaching back to deal with a child (20 per cent) and smoking (18 per cent) were among common risky moves for Victorian drivers.

According to the website finder.com.au’s Safe Driving Report, one in 10 Victorian drivers owned up to steering with their knees, while worryingly, 6 per cent claimed to have microslept while driving.

Unsurprisingly, 14 per cent of women confessed to applying makeup behind the wheel while a quarter of women admit to reaching into the back seat to deal with children compared with only 12 per cent of men. Other submitted activi- ties include electric shaving behind the wheel, killing spiders, and challenging yourself to drive for as long as possible with your eyes closed.

Rebekah Smith, RACV’s manager of road user behaviour, said she was not surprised by the latest survey results.

“Statistics from TAC reveal that one in four Australian mo- torists have admitted to reading text messages on their phone while driving,” she said.

“Rear-end collisions are one of the most common crashes in Victoria, and just two seconds of distraction at 50km/h can lead to 27 metres of extra distance travelled.

“RACV is encouraged by the development of ‘Do not disturb’ functions on smartphones, which stop motorists from becoming distracted by their phones — one of the biggest distractions motorists face on the road”.

Bessie Hassan, insurance expert at finder.com.au, said the Victorian results were “very concerning”.

“The fact that Victorian drivers are prioritising risky behaviour like answering the phone over their safety behind the wheel is very concerning,” he said.

“The survey found 71 per cent of Victorian drivers are engaging in dangerous activities on the road, which is higher than the national average.”

She said some comprehensive insurance policies may not cover damage in accidents caused by such illegal activity.