Flirting While Driving Is Overlooked Danger
Study finds 15 percent of drivers admit to a crash or near miss while flirting.
LONDON Oct. 27, 2010 — -- Drivers are constantly warned about the dangers of texting while driving, but a new study indicates that another danger has been overlooked: flirting while driving.
A survey of British drivers found that 41 percent of drivers admitted to trying to flirt with while on the move, and 15 percent conceded they crashed their car or had a near miss because they were distracted by an attractive passerby.
"Men were by far the worst culprits," said Natalie Grimshare, a spokesperson for the women's car insurance company Diamond, which conducted the nationwide survey of 3,000 drivers. The survey was released this week. Half of all men surveyed admitted to flirting with other motorists on the road, compared to just one-third of the women.
Grimshare said the survey, while conducted in Britain, would have found similar results with American drivers because they share similar vehicle values with Brits.
"We spend a lot of time in our cars," she said. "Maybe people are seeing their car as an extension of their social life."
Ian Crowder, a spokesman for British auto insurance firm AA, said a lack of concentration on the road can be a huge hazard. He said that crashes do occur because of flirting, but that drivers are usually too embarrassed to admit their mistake.
"When you're behind the wheel you're in charge of a machine that could kill somebody," Crowder said. "If you really do want to watch the girls going by, then park up."
Crowder said mistakes on the road can be costly as auto insurance rates in Britain are on a steep rise, up about 40 percent this year. The average cost of an annual comprehensive car insurance policy is about $1,260. The most common types of accidents here are rear-enders.
This is just the type of trouble Ben Moriarty, a 26-year-old Diamond employee, almost got into. He nearly rammed his tiny Mazda 323 into the back of a big Toyota jeep as he smiled at a woman on the street and tried to get her attention. How did he feel?
"Stupid," Moriarty said. "She realized and giggled. I just put my head down and drove off."
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