Friday, August 17, 2012
Don’t get distracted by pedestrians
Do you find that in the summer you can’t stop looking at pedestrians?You’re not alone – but you should really try and avoid getting distracted by scantily-clad people and focus your attentions on the road.
Apparently, according to a car insurance company survey, 60% of men and 12% of women have taken their eyes off the road in order to…admire the view.
Amazingly, 21% of motorists even admitted that billboard models cause them to become distracted from the road too!
A large number of traffic accidents are caused every year by road users who were not giving the road their full attention – so it’s important that we drivers learn some self-control.
It would seem that’s not as easy for some as it is for others though. Reportedly, 17% of male motorists knew that this behaviour was dangerous but couldn’t help looking anyway.
Come on drivers – let’s try harder! There’s plenty of time to people watch when you’re not behind the wheel.
Photo © Crystian Cruz via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car insurance, dangerous, distracted, driver, motorist, pedestrians, road, summer, traffic accident, wheel
Friday, April 20, 2012
In-car caffeine hit
We all know it’s dangerous to drive when tired, and hopefully we all remember that on long journeys the Highway Code states motorists should have a minimum of 15 minutes break every two hours of drive time.
Some of us might be tempted to miss out on these breaks if we’re determined to get to a certain place at a certain time, but this is dangerous behaviour and now one company has invented a gadget that might make us take a break more often. Danish company Handpresso has created an in-car espresso machine called the Handpresso Auto Mobile.
The high-tech drinks maker, which costs around £124, uses the cigarette lighter plug as its energy source and is not a new concept. This is in fact the second version of the gadget – the first of which was made in 2006.
We must state, as the company itself and the Association of British Drivers do, that motorists must pull over somewhere safe before using the machine and drinking their caffeine-boost.
This machine will probably be snapped up by long-distance drivers and coffee-addicts alike. Sadly though, this great gadget’s inventor Henrik Neilson died four months ago, so if you do buy this in-car tech make sure to make a toast to him first.
Photo © gourmet gifts 2010 via photobucket
Labels: Association of British Drivers, break, caffeine, dangerous, drink, drive, espresso, gadget, Handpresso, Highway Code, journey, tired