Politeness puts lives at risk

New research suggests that we are more at risk of crashes on the road due to passengers not wanting to upset drivers whilst in the car.

The study conducted by young driver insurance brand ingenie discovered that more than half of Brits (51%) admit they’ve been in a car when the driver has been speeding, but despite being uncomfortable, 36% said they wouldn’t ask the driver to slow down as they didn’t want to be accused of being a back seat driver.

The research also showed that it’s more common for passengers over the age of 45 to be in a car where the driver is speeding (52%), but this age group are also less likely to slow down when requested by their passenger as they believe they are more experienced on the roads (31%) – compared to 63% of 17-25 year old drivers who said they were likely to slow down when asked.

Interestingly, females are more likely to ask the driver to slow down (44%) whilst males are less likely to (30%).

When it comes to even more serious driving behaviour, 30% of those surveyed aged between 17-25 have been in a car with a driver who was over the drink drive limit one or more times.

Half of young passengers (50%) thought the driver was sober enough to drive, but worryingly when the passenger was aware the driver was over the limit – 25% of those asked claimed they didn’t want to offend the driver by asking them to not get behind the wheel.

“These survey results show we need to arm young passengers with the confidence to speak up when someone is driving dangerously, but we also need to listen when they comment on our driving,” said ingenie CEO, Richard King.

“How we as parents drive has a huge influence on our children’s future attitude to road safety.”