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Motoring news

Football on the radio 'distracts drivers'

27/05/2009

Listening to live football matches can prove a distraction to drivers and even influence their behaviour, according to new research.

The Football Focus report compiled by scientists at the University of Leicester found that some drivers responded to the tempo of the game, with incidents and goals affecting their consistency.

The research put 12 subjects - including ten football fans - in a motorway driving simulator. It found that casual listeners drove consistently through the course of a match, while fans responded to the pace of the game, accelerating and overtaking during attacking moves, driving too close to the car in front, or reaching peak speed during a red card incident.

The report suggests that around two million drivers have had an accident or near-miss while listening to sport on the radio.

Professor Michael J Pont from the University of Leicester suggested that football fans should get someone else to take the wheel during big matches.

"It is widely accepted that the distraction of talking on a hand-held mobile phone may lead to accidents, but other activities may have a similar impact - such as listening to sport on the radio," he said.

"The results we obtained suggest that, particularly during high-pressure situations within the games, there was a very marked impact on the behaviour of the subjects in this study."

Drivers in the North West were found to listen to sport in their cars more than motorists in any other region - making the safety message particularly apt for many of them today.

Publication of the study comes ahead of tonight's Champions League final in Rome - where Manchester United play Barcelona for European club football's biggest prize.