27 February 2015

Who's The Worst Driver You Know?

I was recently asked to write an article about the worst driver I know, but didn't want to offend that particular person and risk ruining our relationship!  Plus, I was mindful of people we know who have experienced hurt as a result of some bad driving and didn't want to make light of it.

The angles discussed reminded me of a survey yonks ago - that much searching has not yet found - which resulted in a majority of the people asked claiming they'd rather be told they had no sense of humour than to be told their driving is bad.

It's obviously a really touchy subject!

The point of the post was to talk about the More Than Telematics Insurance.  This is when a small black box is attached to your car to monitor things such as your speed and your braking to build up a picture of your driving style. This information is then reflected in your insurance premiums and savings of hundreds of pounds can be made.

It is especially aimed at young drivers but, with any luck, it will also be helpfully vital, because I once attended one of those Speed Awareness courses (*blushes*) where they opened with the shocking statistic that speed is the biggest killer of young people worldwide.  (More info in this report HERE).

That kind of figure never leaves you and much searching has not yet found the notes I made that day either, which is a shame because it was enormously interesting.  They also advised, for example, that your laptop or handbag can kill you in a crash should they (or any other large object) fly off the passenger seat and hit you at speed and even a mobile phone can cause a nasty injury.  This is something else I've always remembered so, to this day, all our stuff goes on the floor of the car.

There were lots of people there like me, who took our tests around 30 years ago and many things have changed on the roads since then, including the cars.  It was a very worthwhile cause and it's a better investment of resources - education and re-education - than fiscal fines.  We all came out humbled and I am definitely more cautious now.

So it's not only young drivers who could benefit from being assessed in this way.  It's easy to get into bad habits.  According to them, the average time checking for traffic at a junction before pulling out is under four seconds.  Four seconds!  Which is downright dangerous obviously.  Especially for motorcyclists who won't always get glimpsed in a glance. (You'll find yourself checking how long you take - or don't - now!).

more than car insurance, telematics box, jeremy vine, dangerous driving,
Jeremy Vine
(Image Daily Mail)
And the lovely Jeremy Vine from Radio 2 (someone who I secretly have a crush on) did a feature on his lunchtime programme a while ago saying he was probably going to have to give up his cycling to work because he honestly feels he's risking his life on the roads regarding the ridiculous amount of unthinking driving he encounters.

What he said was startling:  'Every morning when I leave the house, my wife says farewell in the manner of Japanese women who waved off pilot husbands in World War II.'  

He wrote a brilliant article about that HERE - so he's done the bit about some of the worst drivers we know for me and he also, much more recently, held a discussion on his show about how relationships can disintegrate when people with more nerve than I have actually criticize someone else for lacking ability or awareness behind the wheel.  Like I said - very touchy.  Made me hoot though.

Would you rather be told you had no sense of humour (or anything else) than be told your driving is bad?

Who's the worst driver you know?  We won't tell anyone.  Honest ;)

[Disclosure - this is a commissioned post].