A study from Sainsburys Finance has revealed that hazardous driving from parents during the stressful morning and afternoon school run, is putting childrens lives at risk.
The report highlighted that 1.6 million drivers had been involved in accidents in just five years whilst taking their kids to school, with men found to be more likely to be at the wheel when a bump has occurred.
Sainsburys Finance findings show that 13 per cent of motorists admitted that a fear of being late for work and their children being late for lessons was the reason behind the incidents.
Seven per cent of school run motorists blamed traffic congestion for a crash, whilst 6 per cent of those questioned said they had been distracted by people in the car leading them to loose concentration when driving. Just four per cent of school run drivers said their erratic driving was as a result of tiredness at the beginning or end of the day.
The survey of over 2,000 motorists also revealed that 15 per cent of parents had driven their children to school or nursery without them being properly secured in their appropriate safety seats.
Men were found to be more likely to drive on the school run without securing their young passengers with 18 per cent admitting to this compared to just 12 per cent of women.
Sainsburys Car Insurance manager, Joanne Mallon said, By highlighting the dangers of the school run, were hoping more people will strap their young passengers in securely. The school run can be very stressful for drivers. Busy roads, children being noisy in the back seat and the worry of being late for school or work can all lead to stress that can affect peoples driving. What is most concerning about our findings is that a significant number of people are currently not ensuring their children are properly secured in the car.
The most common type of accident was discovered to be one involving another car, with five per cent of all drivers questioned, admitting to being caught up in this type of collision.
According to the research more accidents happen during the morning, with 41 per cent of bumps occurring on the first school run of the day compared to 34 per cent in the afternoon. Women were more likely to be involved in an accident during the morning, with as many as 5 per cent of people surveyed confessing to have been involved in a smash on both the morning and the afternoon school runs.
Londoners feature in the most school run bumps, with 15.2 per cent of those involved coming from the capital. They are closely followed by people from the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside on a figure of 12.5 per cent according to the research commissioned by Sainsburys Car Insurance.
The least prone to accidents were drivers from the Midlands who account for just 5 per cent of collisions, with motorists from the North West of England responsible for 5.2 per cent of accidents and Scotland culpable for 6.7 per cent.
