New research has lifted the lid on the some of the worst motoring distractions drivers have spotted on the road, with shaving, hair styling and telling off the kids all making the list.

Worst motoring distractions revealed in new poll

The poll of more than 2,300 people by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found the three most frequently observed activities are smoking, eating and drinking – all of which have been observed by more than 95% of those surveyed. But ‘telling off children’ and ‘styling hair’ were also high in the charts, with this being witnessed by 82% and 55% of responders respectively. And a total of 63% of those surveyed had seen a driver look at a laptop or tablet screen.

The research also found that many of these distracting behaviours are carried out regularly. A quarter of respondents saw someone drinking at the wheel every day and a fifth saw someone eating.

Sarah Sillars, IAM RoadSmart chief executive officer, said: “We need to persuade drivers there is no such thing as ‘multitasking’ when it comes to motoring. Driving needs to be the sole activity going on whilst at the wheel. Everything else can wait.”