As a blogger, I get sent media pack releases of new studies, surveys & other statistics. The latest one that’s interested me is about Irish driving habits. There are a lot of interesting conclusions from this survey conducted by Chill Insurance.
As a parent, I worry about road safety & keeping my children safe while riding in the car. I worry about my own driving & also about other drivers on the road. As such, it’s quite interesting to learn about Irish driving habits!
Key Points for Irish Parents when Driving:
56% of parents use the rear view mirror to talk with their children in the back seat.
25% of parents see driving as their quiet time.
8 % of parents allow their children to select the music they listen to in the car.
The survey concludes that over half of Irish parents are taking a risk when communicating with their kids in the car. By looking in the rear view mirror when talking to their kids, they are less able to concentrate on the road ahead of them. Kids can be a distraction in the car & parents should rely on verbal communication rather than the mirror.
When my family travels in the car, sometimes we listen to music & sometimes we don’t. My kids don’t ask to choose the songs which is great. I don’t look in the rear view mirror to talk to my kids. But, I would look at them in the rear view if I thought there was something wrong.
Key Points for Irish Parents when it comes to Food:
8% of parents bring homemade snacks for their children to eat on a long journey.
37% of Irish parents prefer to stop for fast food such as Supermacs or McDonalds.
The most popular foods to eat in the car with kids are: burgers, chocolate, crisps, sandwiches, chicken nuggets & smoothies.
60% of Irish drivers say they eat while driving.
Lunchtime is the most popular time to eat in the car, followed by breakfast.
This is really interesting to me. It’s too bad that fast foods are the foods of choice when it comes to feeding kids on the go. We don’t eat McDonalds but we would eat lunch from a deli or cafe. We stop & get out of the car to eat our meals. It stops the car from being trashed & it’s a good time to streth the legs & have a break from traveling. The kids have snacks in the car if they are hungry. I always pack a big bag of snacks from home.
What do you think of these statistics? Did your driving habits fall in line with the majority? One random fact before you go – apparently 56% of Irish pet owners sing to their pets during a long car journey. I definitely do this with the kids!
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