Only 60 per cent of British drivers give the road their full attention when they are driving.
This is the shocking discovery of a new poll of 1,500 people by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and Vision Critical.
When drivers look at new car offers, safety specifications are important considerations, but all the new innovations in the world will not compensate for a driver who is not concentrating.
The results did reveal a generational difference as older drivers are much less likely to lose concentration while driving.
According to the IAM poll, 73 per cent of people over the age of 65 said they concentrate all the time, while 26 per cent say they concentrate most of the time.
However, younger drivers are far more likely to lose their concentration.
Half of people aged between 18 and 24 say they do not focus on the road a 100 per cent of the time they are behind the wheel.
Simon Best, IAM chief executive, said: "Signs of not concentrating such as missed turnings or uncancelled indicator lights are commonplace. Simply not concentrating is a key cause of crashes yet it is not borne out in statistics because drivers rarely admit to it in police reports or on insurance forms."
He added the results strengthen stereotypes surrounding drivers from different age groups and their likelihood of being distracted.
The "key"is to accumulate as "wide a range of experience" as possible, so that drivers continually learn and improve their skills, explained the chief executive.
Daydreaming was cited by drivers as the most common cause of distraction, while stress, thinking about the destination, family, friends and personal relationships were also common reasons for losing concentration.
Geographically, drivers in the north east and Wales had the best concentration levels, while Londoners are the most likely to be distracted.
Posted by Emma Grange