BAD DRIVING SEEN AS 'NORMAL' IF DAD'S DOING IT

November 24, 2009

Bad driving behaviour could influence the way your children drive, the Institute of Advanced Motorists has warned.

Peter Rodger, the IAM's chief examiner in the UK, said: "Children learn from the behaviour of their parents. If you never wear a seat belt, it is seen as acceptable by your child, even if you insist they wear one as they’re growing up.

“Doing 80 in a 60km/h zone, using abusive language towards other drivers and getting too close to the car in front are all bad habits children can pick up from parents or other family members at an early age.

"Such habits can stay with them for life. If children grow up watching momand dad talk, sms and email on their cellphone while driving, they’re going to think it's OK to do the same thing.

Roger insists that, for young adults, a lack of driving training and a blasé attitude to safety inherited from parents could combine to make a particularly lethal combination. This group is the most vulnerable, at least in the UK, with almost 20 000 casualties in cars being 16 to 19-year-olds in 2008.

A nonchalant attitude was also transferable to pedestrian behaviour: "Young children are constantly seeking to emulate the behaviour of their parents. If you consistently walk against a red light or cross without looking, there is a strong chance your child will do the same," Rodger warned.