Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 30 SEPT 2012:
Van drivers are in the doghouse after it was revealed that not one but two independent research studies have discovered evidence of bad behaviour.
New figures from the AA’s insurance division have discovered that van drivers are twice as likely to collect a conviction for a motoring offence when compared to car drivers. Not only that, but AA Insurance also discovered that the white van man has his mobile practically glued to his ear, as car drivers are six times less likely to be caught on the phone than a van driver – information that van insurance are sure to use as an excuse to raise your premium prices, no doubt.
The data, analysed by the AA, comes directly from their customers, indicating that nearly 7.5 per cent of car drivers have had their licence endorsed sometime throughout the past five years. However, that figure jumped to 15.5 per cent when it came to their customers who held a commercial van insurance policy through the motoring organisation’s insurance division.
Meanwhile, less than one-half of one per cent of car drivers had ended up with a CU80, or an offence for mobile phone use behind the wheel. Again, this figure was dwarfed by the more than 2 per cent of van drivers who were also given the same offence.
Meanwhile, another motor insurer’s independent survey found that van drivers also happen to be some of the most irritating people to run into on the road, thanks to a new poll. While Admiral says the most frustrating motorists to encounter were the elderly, with 41 per cent of respondents indicating that the way older motorists drive is enough to make them want to tear their hair out, van drivers weren’t that far behind at just over one out of every three respondents.
In fact, van drivers beat many other annoying motorists out by a wide margin, including ‘boy racers,’ caravanners, and motorbike riders. In fact, the only more hated annoyances on the road – besides the elderly – were cyclists at 36 per cent and taxi drivers at 37 per cent, according to the poll.
Let that be a lesson to all white van men out there: you’ve got a horrid reputation behind the wheel, so quit being such an annoyance. Moreover, you can’t even deny it, because there’s statistical proof of being bad drivers in comparison to others, so fair warning – enough is enough!