iTrips add to driver distraction

As the latest in-car gadgets – iTrips* – become legally available for the first time in shops across the UK from 8th December, Privilege Insurance is urging motorists to exercise caution when using them while driving.

iTrips operate by tuning a driver’s iPod into their in-car FM radio and will add to the many other in-car gadgets, such as CD players and sun-roofs, which are responsible for almost half a million drivers having a road accident, according to research from safe driver experts Privilege.**

Almost half of drivers (45 per cent) say they have lost concentration after being distracted by accessories, and 600,000 drivers admit they have had near misses as a result. 

A fifth of motorists have been so distracted when fiddling with an instrument in their car’s ‘cock-pit’ that they veered out of lane.  Of these, five per cent have lost control of the vehicle, three per cent have veered right off the road – three per cent have actually had an accident.

Kate Syred, Marketing and Commercial Director of Privilege Insurance, commented on the legalisation of ITrips:
“Having the latest in-car gadgets can sometimes make long drives more bearable, but we are urging drivers to make sure they are fully prepared before setting off on a journey and ensure that all of their in-car gadgets are set up beforehand in order to avoid distractions while driving.

“Motorists should set up a play list on their MP3 player that will last the full length of their journey – or at least until their next planned journey break.  Drivers should also avoid the temptation to re-tune their iTrip to a new frequency if the transmission is lost while on the move.”

Almost four in ten (39 per cent) drivers say they avoid using any gadget which isn’t essential to the smooth running of their car, and four in ten go as far as calling on manufacturers to limit the growth of car gadget culture.

According to the Privilege research, it is not just the latest cockpit technology that is distracting and confusing drivers – even the most basic controls are puzzling many of them.  Asked to identify what some of today’s ‘helpful’ dashboard symbols mean, nearly half (47 per cent) failed to identify the engine coolant gauge, 29 per cent didn’t recognise the airbag malfunction indicator and one in eight (12 per cent) failed to recognise the rear demister button.

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Notes to Editors

*iTrips plug into the headphone socket of the iPod and convert the audio output into an FM radio signal.  For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITrip.
**YouGov interviewed 1522 people between 25th and 27th January 2005.  According to the 2001 census, population over 17 is 46,161,595.  Of these 75 per cent driver a car, van or lorry on the roads, giving a driving population of 34,621,196.  Of these, 45 per cent have lost concentration while altering a control / gadget (15,579,538).  Of these, 44 per cent have veered out of lane (7,012,792 – 20 per cent of all drivers) while altering a control / gadget.  Of these, 15 per cent said that their veering out of control while distracted has caused an accident at some point in their driving life (1,051,619 – 3 per cent of all drivers).  Of these, 6 per cent said it caused them to have an accident, caused a crash involving another vehicle or caused them to veer off the road (420,647) and the remainder lost control of the vehicle or almost caused them to have an accident (630,972).