Mobile phone use most hated by drivers

THE MOST HATED driving habit in the UK is using a mobile phone to call or text while behind the wheel. A study has found 47% of British drivers say this is the habit they despise the most in other drivers.

Using a mobile phone while driving is illegal, but other poor driving rated highly in Britain’s top 10 most hated driver habits. In the number two spot is tailgating, which was cited by 42% of drivers as a hated habit, with failing to use indicators in third place.

Other illegal driving behaviour ranked high in the study by Kwik Fit, with dangerous overtaking coming in fourth and drivers who hog the middle lane of motorways scoring fifth place. Last minute braking and undertaking took the sixth and seventh spots respectively, while hesitant driving annoys 12% of UK drivers to take eighth in the top 10.

In the remaining two places come drivers who are slow to pull away from traffic lights and those who jump red lights in ninth and tenth.

Roger Griggs of Kwik Fit, said: ‘These driving habits are not just annoying, they are dangerous and some of them are against the law. You are four times more likely to have an accident if you use a mobile phone while driving. With on-the-spot fines for motorists who hog the middle lane, tailgate or cut up other vehicles, it highlights how serious these anti-social driving behaviours are being taken.’

By Press Association reporters