Drivers’ fears as we exit lockdown

As lockdown restrictions ease, many drivers are embarking on their longest car journeys for almost four months with experts revealing average recovery distances of 80 miles from home. And although they are confident in their own driving, less can be said about their actual abilities and their trusting of other drivers – with almost a quarter (23%) reporting less trust following lockdown.

In a new study of 2,000 UK drivers, by motor insurer NFU Mutual, one in 5 (20%) admit feeling less safe on the roads than they did before lockdown as 18% report they have suffered a near-miss collision. Two fifths (42%) think people are driving too fast and 31% are seeing more drivers forget to indicate post-lockdown.

Despite a whopping 87% of people characterising their driving ability as either good or very good, the new data suggests there are an estimated 3 MILLION drivers who would fail a driving test if they had to retake one. And when polled, nearly a quarter agree drivers should be offered post-lockdown refresher lessons.

It seems one of the main stumbling blocks for tests are road signs, with over half failing to identify a ‘national speed limit applies’ sign when polled. A similar amount also failed to identify a ‘no stopping’ sign and a ‘no motor vehicles’ sign.

Aston spoke to Steve Tucker from NFU Mutual and Nick Lloyd from ROSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) as they gave tips on getting back on the road safely and also discussed more about the research.

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash