A recent survey by car insurance provider, AXA has found that the way in which parents of young people conduct themselves when behind the wheel is likely to be replicated when their children take up driving as the study suggests we are more likely to pick up the bad driving habits of our mother or father.
The AXA Car Insurance survey discovered that drivers aged 18-30 and three times more likely to get banned from driving or to receive points on their licence if their parents have done either of the aforementioned. Also young drivers are seven times more likely to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol if they have witnessed their parents doing the same compared to a young person who has never seen their parents drive after drinking.
Young drivers are also more likely to be aggressive motorists if their mother or father have a tendency to display angry traits when driving such as swearing at other road users, beeping their horn and flashing their lights excessively.
The research highlights just how much young drivers are being influenced, whether consciously or subconsciously, by the driving actions of their parents. Years of watching how their mums and dads behave behind the wheel rubs off on youngsters and they are more likely to pick up their bad habits from what they’ve seen.
