Bedford Driving Lessons

Many sports fans could be putting their lives at risk during the summer of sporting events by listening to important matches and races on the radio while driving. A new research study released today by Direct Line, commissioned with Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), reveals that motorists’ reaction times are 20 per cent slower when they are emotionally and mentally engaged in listening to sports commentary on the radio while behind the wheel. If travelling at a speed of 70mph, this distraction would add six metres to a motorist’s stopping distance. To put this into context, this increase in distance travelled is 10 per cent further than the additional stopping distance when driving with a blood alcohol level at the UK legal limit (80mg/100ml). During the testing, there were nearly 50 per cent more incidents of hard braking while motorists were listening to sports commentary on the radio, in comparison with driving without any distracting factors. This suggests that the motorists were not paying enough attention to the road and had to make late decisions to respond to the conditions and drivers on the road around them. Worryingly, motorists do not perceive. More