Top 10 Driving Distractions

In keeping with our tenth anniversary year, we thought we’d share a list of the most common driving distractions to remind you to stay safe on the roads.

1. Eating and Drinking – If you eat your breakfast on the way to work it is likely you won’t be giving the road your full attention

2. Listening to music – it is not so much the listening that can distract you, but the changing of radio stations or flicking through your playlist.

3. Using your phone – we all know that phones and driving don’t mix, but did you know that texting drivers are 23 times more likely to crash than those paying full attention to the road

4. Viewing an incident – most of us would admit to slowing down to view an incident on the road involving other motorists, but in doing so we are actually putting ourselves and others at risk of an accident on the road ahead

5. Dozing off – tiredness can be one of the worst driving distractions with around 5% of motorists actually admitting to nodding off whilst behind the wheel.

6. Other occupants – if you have ever driven anywhere with children you will realise how easy it is to become distracted by their arguments when you should be concentrating on the road

7. Pets – almost a quarter of UK households own a dog, and often these pets need to be transported to the vets, kennels, dog day care or just out with the family for the day. Barking or movement from the back seat or boot can be distracting when driving. We reveal how even F1 drivers can become distracted by children and pets!

8. Applying make-up – using your mirrors to check the application of mascara or lipstick is not the best way to stay alert when driving.

9. Adjusting devices or controls within the vehicle – just as changing the radio station can be distracting, so too can adjusting your climate control, altering your mirrors or moving your seat forwards or backwards.

10. Smoking – it is not just lighting a cigarette that takes your attention away from the road but also distinguishing one.

Even worrying about your vehicle can be a distraction, so remember to maintain regular servicing to give you one less thing to worry about.

Use our Good Garage Scheme website to find a trustworthy garage in your area.

Phones and Driving, a Deadly Combination

We all agree that driving is a highly unpredictable and risky activity requiring full concentration at all times. Drivers who divide their attention, because they're on the phone or distracted by something else, are significantly increasing their risk of causing a devastating crash.

Despite this, many drivers try to multitask – with mobile phones or other distractions such as eating – dramatically increasing their risk of causing a crash. More than two in five crashes are thought to be caused, at least in part, by driver distraction.

According to the Road Safety Charity, Brake, if you talk on a phone at the wheel – hands-free or hand-held – your risk of causing an injury or death is four times as high. Use a phone to text, email or browse the internet and the risk is much higher still. In fact, the impact of using a phone on reaction times is on a par with drink driving. Yet a huge proportion of drivers put themselves and others in danger for the sake of a call or message, whether flouting the law by using a hand-held phone, or wrongly believing that hands-free is a safe alternative.

What needs to be done?

Drivers can help make our roads safer by putting phones out of sight and reach when driving to avoid temptation, ideally in the boot. On long journeys, you should take regular breaks and use these to check for messages. Phones and driving are a deadly combination, and no call or message is worth a life.

Brake are calling on government to ban hands-free phones at the wheel, in line with the evidence that they increase crash risk just as much as hand-helds – it's the distraction of the phone conversation itself that causes the danger. The rise of in-built car 'infotainment' systems presents an added source of distratction and the government needs to act to regulate them.


Brake say that there also needs to a much higher penalty for phone use at the wheel – from the current £100 to at least £500-1,000 – so drivers take it seriously, combined with stepped-up enforcement by making traffic policing a national policing priority.

For more information on Brake, please visit their website.

The Good Garage Scheme supports the Road Safety Charity, Brake ahead of Road Safety Week in November.

Tips for Driving with Children This Summer

School holidays are here and there may be many trips this summer with children in the car.

Peter Rodger, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM's) head of driving standards reminds us this week that no matter how difficult it sounds, the driver's duty is to the road and road users first - the children second.
He says, "Any problem the children have can be dealt with when the car is stationary, and should never be dealt with on the move. Easier said than done, but it is the only way."

Here are some helpful tips from the IAM:

Seatbelts on! 

If you’re travelling with children under the age of three years you must use a child restraint. Children three years and above must be placed in a booster seat, safely secured with a seatbelt. Make sure you make the appropriate adjustments before you start your journey. If you’re using a child restraint,check whether it needs to be front-facing or rear-facing beforehand.

Everyone comfy?

Avoid placing large and heavy objects or luggage on the rear seat where your children will be seated.

Be prepared

Make sure you have packed important items for your journey including a fully charged mobile phone, first aid kit, water, blanket and high-visibility jackets – you may need these items if you’re vehicle breaks down and you are waiting for help to arrive.

Fun and games

Think about what games your children can take with them on long journeys to keep them occupied. If they will be using a portable device or in-car DVD player, make sure they have headphones plugged in so the sound doesn’t distract you.

Take a break

The longer you’re on the road, the higher the likelihood your children could become irritable. Plan to take regular rest breaks at least every two hours so you can rest and they can release some energy.

Travel with a friend

If you can, travel with another adult passenger who can keep an eye on the youngsters. This will allow you to fully concentrate on the road and prevent them distracting you.

'Have a word' when safe

Never turn around to deal with fighting youngsters while you are driving. Always find a safe place to stop first. Don’t continue your journey with children fighting in the back – it may affect your behaviour behind the wheel.

The Good Garage Scheme would like to wish everyone a happy and safe summer holiday.

Make sure to visit your local Good Garage Scheme member to check your vehicle is ready for the road.