Pull in before you tune in

REARVIEW:As if we didn't have enough to distract us while driving, boffins in Britain have decided listening to the radio can be as hazardous as drink driving.

According to Britain’s Transport Research Library, the risk is particularly bad when drivers are listening to nail-biting sports events – such as penalty shootouts or last-minute refereeing blunders.

The study found reaction times can be slowed by up to 20 per cent, the equivalent of a six-metre stopping distance if a car is travelling at motorway speeds. This is 10 per cent further than the additional stopping distance when driving with a blood alcohol level at the UK legal limit.

Incidents of hard braking doubled while drivers were tuned into sports events, with the risk increasing markedly if the listener has an emotional attachment to a team. This was even more pronounced when the listener had a few bob on the result. Most worrying of all is that motorists seem to be oblivious to the dangers.

“While motorists were found to realise that other distracting factors, such as stress and attending to arguing children, impaired their confidence and safety while driving, they did not feel that listening to sports commentary on the radio had an impact on their concentration, confidence or safety,” the research found. “At particularly tense times . . . it may be safer to find a place to park and enjoy the action without risking an accident,” spokesman Dr Nick Reed said.

Luckily for the non-sports fans, the researchers found that listening to music or chat, as a rule, did not incite the same level of emotion and is therefore less distracting.

This is a matter of some dispute. They’ve obviously never been subjected to Joe Duffy.