Latest News Stories

Irresponsible driving from car insurance customers 'should be targeted'

21/05/07

Motorists should be penalised for irresponsible behaviour instead of for engaging in particular activities such as smoking, according to a driving group.

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) has claimed that car insurance customers could soon be subject to a series of rules banning them from partaking in particular activities in the car, potentially resulting in higher car insurance premiums for offenders.

The comments follow calls made by the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association to ban smoking while driving, as it could distract drivers, leading to accidents, injuries and large car insurance payouts.

However, the ABD has said it is wary of banning individual actions because some drivers may think activities that are not banned are therefore safe - when in fact any activity could be dangerous if performed irresponsibly.

Brian Gregory, ABD chairman, explained: "This includes mobile phone use, smoking, eating, talking to passengers, dealing with disruptive children, tuning the radio, operating satnav, checking the speedometer to avoid being caught by speed cameras and even opening the windows or sunroof or picking one's nose."

He added that it is more a question of responsible drivers deciding when it is safe to perform these actions, rather than banning them outright.

Otherwise, "ridiculous" situations could result, with motorists being prosecuted for menial offences - to the detriment of being able to find cheap car insurance, the association claimed.

Previously, the ABD said that although too many in-car gadgets could prove to be a distraction from road safety, some devices such as satellite navigation systems could be of real benefit to car insurance customers.