With the onset of April showers, motorists are being warned of driving conditions that are factors in more collisions than drivers distracted by mobiles or defective vehicles.
Analysis of official government data by leading driving experience provider – DrivingExperience.com – reveals two weather related issues that motorists need to be particularly aware of at this time of year.
While drivers should never use a mobile device or drive a defective vehicle, collisions caused by these factors are dwarfed when compared to collisions that were on a road surface which was slippery due to the weather.
The Department for Transport (DfT) road safety factor figures show there were 2,161 collisions on this type of road surface compared to 340 collisions when a mobile device was involved and 1,249 including vehicles with defects such as defective tyres or lights.
Further analysis for the last full year that figures are available also shows there were 1,069 collisions when the driver or rider vision was affected by adverse weather or dazzling sun, more than three times the mobile device figure.
Imran Malek, corporate sales manager at DrivingExperience.com, said: “Judging driving conditions in April can be tricky with heavy downpours often followed by bright sunshine that is still quite low in the sky.
“Motorists should be vigilant at all times so they can drive safely, including maintaining a sensible speed, keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front and avoiding heavy braking, as well as not using a mobile device and keeping their vehicle in a road worthy condition.”
Fines for defective windscreen wipers can be as much as £2,500, while driving with illegal tyres can see £2,500 fines and three penalty points for each faulty tyre.
Motorists can also hone their driving skills to help cope with wet weather, such as with Skid Pan Experiences as provided by DrivingExperience.com.
Imran added: “Each season presents its own driving challenges, and spring is no different. The harsh winter climate has been replaced by highly changeable and unpredictable weather, which motorists need to give due respect to.”
For more information about DrivingExperience.com, including its skid pan experiences, visit www.drivingexperience.com.