Phoning and texting biggest pet road hates

Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Using a mobile phone to talk or text while driving - despite a new ban - is the activity that most makes the blood of other drivers boil, a survey shows.

AA Insurance asked more than 3000 New Zealand drivers to rank which driving habits frustrated them most.

Respondents were most annoyed by drivers using mobile phones to call or text, but also by motorists who speed up in passing lanes, then slow down once out of them and do not let others pass.

The online survey questioned drivers between the ages of 18 and 65 and the results suggest different generations have different driving peeves.

Those aged 18-34 were most concerned with unreasonably slow drivers while those aged 55-64 got more frustrated with people using cellphones and paying attention to something other than their driving.

While these habits themselves led to more collisions, AA Insurance deputy general manager Martin Fox said frustrated drivers also caused problems.

"A driver who becomes frustrated or impatient is more likely to make driving decisions that cause accidents. If frustrations boil over, we make decisions we normally wouldn't. Those who are more relaxed, more patient, and more aware tend to have fewer crashes."

AA Insurance said that although driver inattention was the primary cause of crashes, frustration made motorists speed and distracted them from the road ahead.

Waitemata strategic road policing manager Superintendent John Kelly agreed and said driver frustration could contribute to a crash, especially if drivers got stuck in slow traffic.

"If drivers are obstructed they're more likely to try and overtake in a silly place and increase the risk to themselves and other drivers. There are no minimum speeds on New Zealand roads but drivers who choose to drive slowly are obliged to pull over when they can and let faster traffic pass."

However, Mr Kelly said rushed drivers were often as much to blame as those taking their time: "Many drivers certainly do have a 'me first' attitude and you can see that on our roads any day of the week with drivers committing acts of discourtesy to get one place ahead in the traffic. It's often drivers like these who cause the delays they're trying to avoid in the first place."

Mr Fox said drivers could reduce risks simply by showing respect.

"If we show more respect, more courtesy and more patience, it will make our roads much safer."