New research from Diamond, specialist in women’s car insurance, shows that 23 per cent of a panel of 2,000 women admit to applying make up while driving. Of those 16 per cent admit to having crashed or have had a near miss as a result.
It is not just just applying make-up; women are using their drive to work to complete routine morning tasks that are equally as dangerous. Almost half (47%) have checked text messages, nearly a third (30%) have brushed their hair behind the wheel, while a similar number have eaten breakfast (34%) and drunk hot drinks (32%). As well, almost a fifth (18%) have checked their emails on a smart phone and nearly one in ten (9%) have read the newspaper.
Diamond managing director, Elwyn Gedrych said, “It’s shocking that quite so many women admit to doing these tasks while driving. We all have busy lives but applying your make-up, or checking emails, when you’re driving is dangerous as it means your full attention is not on the road ahead.
“Even if you’re lucky enough to arrive at your destination safely, you could be charged with careless driving if spotted by the police.”
Although the majority (60%) of the women who admitted to applying their make-up behind the wheel, did it when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights, shockingly one in ten (12%) admitted to applying make-up while the car is moving and 7% take their hands off the wheel completely to do it.
In fact, despite four-fifths (84%) of women who apply make-up whilst driving admitting they think it’s dangerous, more than two-thirds (41%) have done it with passengers in the car, and almost a third (30%) when children have been travelling with them.
So why are women taking these risks? For six out of ten (64%) they’re applying make-up behind the wheel because it saves them time, while one in ten (10%) said it was because they couldn’t be bothered to do before they left home.
Elwyn Gedrych continues, “It’s really not worth trying to save a few minutes in the morning by doing your make-up, or anything other than driving, when you’re behind the wheel.
“And so women never have to do their make-up in their car again, we’ve teamed up with celebrity make-up artist, Caroline Frazer to give women all the tools they need for a quicker, more efficient make-up routine before they leave the house.”
Source : Diamond
