HANGRY DRIVERS: IMPACT OF DRIVING WHILE HUNGRY REVEALED

• One in 10 say driving while hungry impacts their ability to concentrate
• One in 10 drivers involved in a ‘near miss’ blamed it on their irritability caused by hunger
• One in 14 of motorists admit to getting angry and shouting at other drivers when hungry
• Dr Lisa Dorn, Professor of Driver Behaviour has commented on the findings

New research from Admiral car insurance is warning motorists about the danger of driving while hungry as its latest investigation finds that almost a quarter of drivers (24%) skip one meal per day during any given day, with one in 10 people confessing they typically skip two meals per day during the week.

The investigation found that over two thirds (68%) of drivers could be starting their journey behind the wheel while feeling hungry, with 14% of those saying that’s a situation they regularly find themselves in. With over 30 million cars on the road across the UK, there could be more than 4 million hungry drivers on the road every day.

The number of hungry drivers on the roads in the UK is perhaps not surprising when you consider that over 20% of people wait until they get to work before they eat anything.

One in 10 drivers admit that driving while hungry impacts their ability to concentrate behind the wheel and almost 15% admit that feeling thirsty also affects their driving ability.  

Worryingly, 7% of drivers say that driving while feeling hungry makes them take longer to react to situations on the road.

When questioned, almost one in 10 (8%) of people who have had a road accident confessed that feeling irritable due to hunger played a part in their mishap. Similarly, 10% of drivers who have had a ‘near-miss’ said their irritability caused by hunger had played a part in what happened.