4 in 10 motorists admit losing concentration at the wheel, according to survey

Yet more reason to consider slowing everything down isn't it? Those are depressingly scary numbers aren't they and it would explain a great deal.

Quite how anyone in authority thinks its fine for a country lane to have a 60mph limit on it whilst a modern motorway with vastly superior sight lines, access to emergency care, traffic flowing in one direction, decent road surface and drainage allows 70mph still baffles me.

Surely if this is the reality we should be forcing everyone to slow down, purely to increase the chance the daydreamer has to return to planet earth before he hits anyone?...accidentally of course

I unwind, daydream and think of my "list of things to do" sometimes when i cycle. These thoughts use different parts of th brain. I don't do it intensely or often. Its just how we work - our minds think of different stuff. Not 100% on one thing for an entire hour/half hour. We aren't robots

I wish I had a job in the Ministry of Stating the Obvious...

You never hear of a cyclist navigating without due care and attention - I seen a few before on a cycle whereby it started hailing & snowing - strange how the drivers gave me some degree of respect when that happened...seems they only slow when the ground goes white.

Motorists just love being part of a procession even though this cause's them to 'lose concerntration'.

Interstingly when i ride theirs NOTHING LIKE a cyclist to emit competitive tendencies ie the other day i had a female motorist swear blind she stopped at a t junction when plain as day I seen her drift out like she was either on the phone or 'distracted' - i was only doing 25 at the time good job i anticipated it happening.

Why is it that cyclists are berated on the roads yet we have to take notice THE MOST !, everything, road surface, cars, people, motorists, weather, lights, looking out for other drivers for their own good - prior to xmas i nearly got taken out by a private taxi who wasnt intending to stop at a roundabout - good job i looked...even though i had right of way - soo floored was this bloke that he drifted across the road then realised how much of a jerk he was driving: WHY is it always the cyclist who wakes the car driver up, sometimes coming off worse.

How is it that the courts protect this form of motoring ? ok they pay taxes, we all do...

I've been riding for 25yrs i think and it never changed.

I cannot emphasise enough that while driving, it is the most important issue for anyone no matter the purpose of the drive. Even to get to a gravely ill relative at that moment, that must be secondary.

Unfotunately, because driving is a routine and humans are human, other distractions and issues are allowed to encroach.

If we handed drivers a grenade or loaded machine gun they would be concentrating yet motor vehicles are more lethal.

Again it's a wonder that accident rates in the UK are much better than this poll would have us think but it should be pretty cheap to run a concentrate campaign every now and then. It may help.

The main reason that drivers do not concentrate is because they feel so safe and divorced from the real world, cocooned in their steel cage with roll bars, seat belts, air bags, air-con, massive stereos etc. Surely that is the reason there is such a difference in the responsibility for collisions between cyclists and drivers, with drivers responsible for three times as many. If drivers were to feel as threatened by collisions as cyclists, I'm sure their attention wouldn't wander anywhere near as much. 12" rusty bayonet in the middle of the steering wheel and no seat belt spring to mind.

Everyone loses concentration when driving.
The important thing is accepting that, and mitigating against it.
Proper distance from other vehicles/road users.
Car in proper condition, including lights on and windscreen clear in winter conditions!
So on and so on. Biggest issue I see every day when driving is zombie mode driving whilst less than half a second from car in front regardless of speed/conditions. No room for those concentration lapses.

so the real number is more like 9 out of 10

Drivers in London spend a lot of their time sitting in traffic jams. Don't need much concentration for that.

maybe young drivers are more aware of their failings?

I lost concentration twice while reading this.

At times I can't remember my commute, its all auto pilot.

6 out of ten motorists tell lies in surveys.

I'll relate the same old story I tell everytime one of these 'driver distraction' surveys appears.

An old clubmate of mine was an RAF pilot, and he wouldn't drive for more than 2 hours at a time as he didn't feel able to give it the attention he felt it deserved.

Odd survey, "4 out of 10 admit losing concentration". Presumably the other 6 out of 10 just aren't aware that it happens, or they lied.

Everyone that drives will fail to concentrate at some point, because we're not computers. The safety concern is about drivers unnecessarily distracting themselves (phones, satnavs etc), or driving when they shouldn't (tired, drunk, medicated).

Noone concentrates perfectly while on the road all the time. The question being asked is so broad it would seem reasonable enough to say "4 in ten people have an awareness of concentration lapses while driving, the rest just don't notice it happening".