A new study has revealed that UK motorists stop paying attention to the road after eleven minutes behind the wheel.
Lack of mental stimulation is a great risk for UK drivers, as new research commissioned by eSure car insurance has found.
Figures have shown that UK motorists remain focused on the road for an average of only eleven minutes and mentally 'disconnect' after that time. While a quarter of motorists admit that they get bored easily whilst driving, 22% admitted to regularly slipping into 'autopilot'. Aside from boredom, other reasons to switch off are work related thoughts (25%) and sleepiness (24%).
Worryingly, more than a third of British drivers (34%) confessed to having made a journey and then having had no memory of the trip upon arrival; a further 14% even admitted that driving on autopilot made them drive to familiar locations, such as the office, instead of going to their desired destination. Regarding gender, figures showed that 16% of men have made this particular mistake, compared to 11% of women.
The report also highlighted that drivers in the North East are the ones driving on autopilot the most often, with 43% of them doing so; whereas motorists in the East Midlands are the ones who concentrate the most behind the wheel with only 15% 'switching off'.
Taking 'tech action'
In order to fight this common problem, up to 32% of respondents said they do specific activities to keep their mind stimulated, such as changing the radio station or quickly checking their phone. Other popular 'tech actions' include surfing the internet (21%), making a phone call (20%) and sending a text message (18%).
Finally, the report warned all drivers that a lack of mental stimulation led 13% of motorists to actually have an accident. In fact, three out of ten drivers polled admitted to having frightened themselves after realising that they have 'switched off' whilst behind the wheel.
