Axon’s Automotive Anorak: Texting in traffic – five cars to avoid

Having taken a few trips into Town over the last few months for a series of meetings, my early starting times have landed me in the coach, and in the middle of the slow and labourious daily crawl into the West End, along with thousands of fellow commuters.

With the elevated seating position coach-travellers enjoy, I am able to watch the world go by at a snail’s pace speed, and also see what motorists get up to when behind the wheel, stuck in endless traffic doing around 10 mph.

Predictably, a large number tap their steering wheels in time to music, shout at the radio, glance at themselves in the rear view mirror, and distressingly, pick their noses when they think no one is looking!

By far the worse (and most dangerous) driving characteristic in slow-moving traffic though is the inevitably use of mobile telephones. Although use of a non-hands-free mobile is rightly illegal in the UK, and despite the threat of tougher fines and penalty points, a worrying number of motorists still blatantly use their hand-held ‘phones while driving, even if it is stuck in a queue at slow speeds.

From my lofty vantage point in the coach, and prompted by a driver texting on her ‘phone for 15 minutes or more, whilst moving and barely looking up, I began one of my very unscientific ‘surveys’ a few months back, observing just how many drivers text and/or make held-held calls whilst driving. Some people even have their head tilted and the ‘phone tucked under their ear as they make notes using the steering wheel as a desk…

From my coach observations, the use of mobile ‘phone has proven to be far more prevalent than I had expected, despite the clear and regularly communicated risks and sterner penalties.

I know it will seem a tad sad (well, this is the anorak after all!), and often with little better to do, some months back I began to take a note of the cars that ‘mobile users were ‘driving.

Despite Ford still selling more cars in the UK than any other vehicle producer, the number of sub-20mph Ford drivers has been commendably low, with Focus (Estate) drivers being the most likely to text and drive. Giving the greater numbers on our roads by virtue of overall UK sales, Vauxhall, Toyota and Renault drivers also seem to be more law abiding and don’t play with their mobiles behind the wheel too often, if at all, based on my unscientific observations.

At the opposite end of the scale, however, it seems that the larger, the costlier and more German a car is, it’s driver will be more tempted to resist the law and concentrate more on the screen of their ‘phone than look through the windscreen of their car.

From my observations, the Top Five cars most likely to find its driver playing with his or her ‘phone, rather than concentrating on the road, and worth avoiding are as follows.

5. Nissan Qashqai

In fifth place by a whisker as just one driver ahead of the Audi Q3.

4. Volkswagen Golf

Bound to feature on the list as there’s so many of them around. The newer the model, the greater the likelihood to be caught texting.

3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Perhaps texting/calling business associates or clients needing a lift to the airport.

2. BMW X1

Strange, as there are not many X1s around in comparison to higher-selling BMWs, such as the 3 Series, X5, and so on. Black X1s are the highest offenders of all from my observations.

1. Audi A3

No real surprise to see an Audi heading up this list, as it tallies fully with the sweeping generalisation that Audi drivers have now become the most aggressive in British roads, to a point that even comedians now make jokes about them. Irrespective of model generation, the Audi A3 driver is the one to best avoid and be extra cautious around in slow-moving heavy traffic.  

From my unscientific notes, women were more likely to be found playing with/on their ‘phones (62 per cent) behind the wheel than men, with younger male motorists more prone than other groups to be seen texting when driving in slow traffic. Oh the impatience of youth, and the annoyance of my inquisitive and analytical mind and propensity to car spotting when bored!