Canberra drivers love to speed more than those in any other state or territory. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
It’s official: a study has found the ACT has the highest proportion of drivers who engage in risky behaviour while at the wheel.
Australian insurance, utility, and home loan comparison service iSelect polled more than 3000 Aussies on who’s the most dangerous when at the helm of thousands of kilos of metal and plastic, and – while it may or may not be a surprise depending on who you ask – we came out top.
Nearly seven in 10 (69.1%) Canberra drivers admitted to engaging in at least one dangerous activity – more than our peers in Queensland (65.3%) and Victoria (62.3%).
The study finds we were “clear leaders” in several categories, including speeding (57%), driving while extremely tired or drowsy (25%), and taking a phone call without hands-free (20.6%).
ACT drivers were also the most likely to be distracted by passengers (22%), take photos while driving (8.8%) and ignore dashboard warning lights (10.3%).
For reference, Tasmania recorded the safest drivers, with just over half (53.7%) admitting to risky behaviours behind the wheel.
The national average showed that one in six drivers admitted to engaging in at least one dangerous driving behaviour.
Speeding topped the list of the most common dangerous habits, with 41.2 per cent of drivers confessing to it.
The next most prevalent behaviour was driving while extremely tired or drowsy, with nearly one in five drivers (19.4%) saying they’ve driven in that state.
Phone use while driving was also a big one, whether it was taking calls without a hands-free setup (15.4%), messaging or emailing (13.7%), using social media (7.7%), or even taking photos and videos of things outside the vehicle (7.1%).
Other common habits Aussies admitted to include expressing road rage (14.3%) and getting distracted by passengers.
More concerningly, over one in 20 drivers confessed to steering with their knees or driving over the legal limit for drugs or alcohol.
Percentage of drivers who admit to each driving behaviour. Photo: iSelect.
Broken down by gender, the study noted there wasn’t much difference between men and women, with 61.5 per cent of women and 60.1 per cent of men admitting to some form of risky behaviour while driving.
Speeding was the most common dangerous habit for both men and women, although 4.2 per cent more men admitted to driving over the speed limit. Phone-related distractions, on the other hand, were more common among women.
The most significant difference between men and women was that 17 per cent of women were more likely to be distracted by other passengers, compared to 9 per cent of men, which iSelect said “suggests that more mothers might be driving their children than their dads”.
Men, however, were more likely to speed, steer with their knees, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, watch videos while driving, not wear a seatbelt, race other drivers, and … um, engage in “physical intimacy” behind the wheel.
By age, nearly three-quarters (73.2%) of Gen Z-ers (18–24 year olds) were most prone to drive dangerously, compared to 70.9 per cent for 25–34 year olds, 65.1 per cent for 35–44 year olds, and 48.9 per cent of drivers aged 65-plus.
It seems the car you drive makes a difference, too.
Audi drivers topped the list for risky driving, with 82.5 per cent admitting to at least one dangerous habit. Volkswagen followed at 70 per cent, while MG (50.9%) and Honda (53.9%) drivers were the least likely to take risks behind the wheel.
Speeding was most common among Volkswagen (55%) and Subaru (54.5%) drivers, while road rage was reported most by Volkswagen (23%) and Mercedes-Benz (22.2%) drivers.
Mitsubishi (20.3%) and Subaru (20%) drivers were the most likely to answer calls without hands-free, while BMW drivers were by far the biggest offenders when it came to using social media while driving (23.2%), followed by MG (15.8%).
Percentage of drivers in each jurisdiction who admit to speeding. Photo: iSelect, Screenshot.
More specifically, it seems that Mitsubishi drivers were most likely to run a red light (10.8%), followed by Volkswagen drivers (10%). Audi and Holden owners were the most likely to ignore dashboard warning lights, at 10.5 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively (maybe they’re just used to them always being on), and were also the most likely to race another car, at 7 per cent and 6.7 per cent.
And when it came to selfies and filming themselves behind the wheel? Audi (8.8%) and BMW (8.7%) drivers led the way. Got to feed the social media beast.
In a previous survey of 3200 Aussie drivers, iSelect also found that BMW owners are the rudest drivers on the road, gaining almost a quarter (23.7%) of the votes. Mercedes-Benz ranked second, followed by Audi. Meanwhile, BMW drivers named their rivals in Mercedes-Benzes as worst, followed by Holdens.
On the other end of the spectrum, Toyota owners were named the most polite of all drivers (winning 14.6 per cent of the overall vote), followed by Hyundai (9.6%) and Mazda (9.1%).
So, are you a BMW-driving Canberran? You can put the phone down now.
