Drivers take eyes off road for 2 miles in an hour

DRIVERS typically take their eyes off the road for over two miles in a one-hour journey, according to a study.

Car giant Peugeot fitted motorists with special glasses that have six small cameras, to map where the retina of the eye was looking every 0.05 seconds.

Whether distracted by the radio or talking to passengers, drivers were found to be looking elsewhere around 7 per cent of the time. On a one-hour drive at thirty miles an hour, this equates to more than two miles.

Of the 1445 fatal crashes in 2016, ‘failure to look’ was a contributory factor in 397 incidents. David Peel, of Peugeot UK, said: ‘We all know the dangers of taking your eyes off the road, whether to adjust the radio or the temperature in the car... it’s easy to see how the average driver could be in control of a car yet not be looking at the road for over 3,350 metres in a one-hour journey.’