Sainsbury’s Car Insurance has welcomed the Government’s launch this week of a new campaign to warn motorists of the dangers of driving whilst they are tired. Research commissioned by Sainsbury’s Car Insurance has shown that in any given month over a third (34%) of motorists admit to driving whilst they are feeling tired⁽¹⁾.

Joanne Mallon, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance Manager, said: “We’re delighted to see the Government’s new initiative highlighting the dangers associated with driving combined with tiredness. It can be tempting for motorists on long journeys to just push on through the tiredness, but taking at least the recommended break of 15 minutes every two hours could be the difference between having an accident or arriving safely.”

The findings from Sainsbury’s Car Insurance also revealed that 68% of drivers (projected to over 18.5 million motorists) engage in some form of potentially dangerous driving-related activity in any given month⁽¹⁾.

Eating and drinking whilst driving is the most frequent dangerous driving habit, with 41% of motorists admitting to having done it during July 2007.  This is followed by driving wearing flip flops/no shoes (20%) and excessive speeding (17%).

⁽¹⁾ 1,012 people were interviewed by TNS between 2nd and 6th August 2007.  Interviews were conducted online. The consumer omnibus research conducted by TNS NOP uses a large sample size that reflects the demographic profile of GB. Given this it is possible to extrapolate figures and make projections from the research results within appropriate confidence intervals.