A shocking new study shows that new drivers fall into bad habits within 14 days of passing the UK practical driving test. With a new look driving test set to be launched on 4 December, 2017, the study found that new road users are becoming more careless than ever. What’s the story?
According to the study, new drivers are disregarding everything they learnt from driving lessons, the theory test and the practical exam, after just two weeks. The study shows that within 14 days new motorists start driving without a seatbelt, while after three weeks they’re tailgating and illegally using their phone to text while driving!
The research – commissioned by comparethemarket.com ahead of the launch of the new driving test in December – found that less than a fifth of those with a UK driving licence are ‘confident’ about their current driving ability.
The study also found that two thirds of motorists thought that the practical UK driving test is much harder now than when they passed. Meanwhile, 50 percent of those polled don’t think they would pass the new driving test.
New drivers and the new test
Comparethemarket.com director, Simon McCulloch, said: “With the new driving test regulations on the horizon, we wanted to know how new drivers felt about the requirements of the new look test. We wanted to understand current driving habits too, and examine how British drivers would fare if they had to take the new exam.”
However, the number of new drivers openly admitting to bad habits is alarming. The study shows that motorists confessed to making mobile phone calls from behind the wheel just three weeks into driving solo. Meanwhile, one-handed steering took just five weeks to become a bad habit.
Three quarters of new drivers surveyed are self-confessed ‘good drivers,’ but 71 percent did admit to slipping into poor practices over time. Meanwhile, a little under four fifths confessed that they could do more to become a better driver.
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