Almost three-quarters admit that they do not always give the road ahead their full attention, while 30% owned up to having had an accident or near-miss because they were not concentrating properly on the road. 

Traffic jams also pose a problem to driver attention. The study of 3,000 drivers found that the average British driver will spend five hours and 44 minutes behind the wheel each week, including an hour and 56 minutes spent sitting in traffic. This adds up to just over one day each month, which equates to the average motorist spending a staggering 6,182 hours – or eight months and two weeks of their life from the age of 17 -  waiting for traffic to move.

The Specsavers study discovered that bored drivers are often watching what's going on around them, playing games on their mobile phones and even checking their Facebook profile. Almost one in ten even admits to having had an accident because they became distracted while stuck in a jam.

Top ten things that British drivers do while stuck in traffic

1.      Listen to music

2.      Watch other drivers in their cars

3.      Watch people out on the street

4.      Send a text message

5.      Make a phone call

6.      Have something to eat

7.      Check Facebook or Twitter profile

8.      Send emails

9.      Apply make-up

10.    Play games on mobile phone.