Passengers can be very off-putting for those at the wheel.<\/p>\n
As drivers, we're always told to maintain concentration and to keep our eyes on the road. But while there are many distractions outside our cars to test our ability to do this – pedestrians, buildings and parks, for example – it can be from within the vehicle that we get the most agitated.<\/p>\n
Passengers can be the main reason our attention is diverted when we should be focusing on what's going on around the motor – and it is therefore very important we understand how best to deal with others in the car when their actions become offputting.<\/p>\n
Children are a common cause of distraction while we're at the wheel – especially younger ones who don't know any better – but older people who are aware the driver has to remain alert all times can also be the source of annoyance.<\/p>\n
Be they friends, family or work colleagues, they are all capable of putting us off our driving. This is evidenced by new research from Confused.com, which revealed 35 per cent of motorists have seen their driving affected by troublesome passengers.<\/p>\n
A total of 19 per cent of drivers have been involved in a collision when travelling with others – and seven per cent of these individuals cited their passengers as the main cause of the accident.<\/p>\n
Gemma Stanbury, head of car insurance at Confused.com, said: "Having other people in the car can distract us from the road and potentially lead to accidents, which in turn can increase the cost of our car insurance premiums.<\/p>\n
"Drivers and passengers alike need to take responsibility for their actions. This means passengers need to stop being back seat drivers and doing anything that could affect drivers' behaviour."<\/p>\n
She added drivers have to ensure they do not give in to peer pressure when at the wheel, making sure their full attention remains on the road ahead and they don't allow themselves to be distracted by whatever is going on inside the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Posted by Fred Mason<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Passengers can be very off-putting for those at the wheel. As drivers, we're always told to maintain concentration and to keep our eyes on the road. But while there are many distractions outside our cars to test our ability to do this – pedestrians, buildings and parks, for example – it can be from within […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[531],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expert-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n