A recent statistic of both male and female Max Power Readers, in association with the RAC, revealed almost 9 in 10 younger drivers aged 17-30 had suffered from road rage being directed toward them or had carried out acts of road rage themselves.Another recent Gallup poll revealed 80.4% of British drivers stated they had been victims of road rage incidents. Simply terrifying.These figures indicate that at some point the majority of us have experienced, or will experience the phenomena known as road rage. Even more terrifying.
A ‘Road Rage Gauge’tool has been created by Carcraft to allow people to ascertain just how ‘ragey’ they really are, and what factors, and scenarios can contribute towards making their blood boil (Well worth checking out as one lucky person will be selected to win £250 just for using the gauge!)So, be it drivers not indicating, driving too fast (or too slow), undertaking, overtaking aggressively, tailgating, using their mobiles (can you believe some people still do that?!) or the kids sat behind you driving you slowly nuts, the reasons behind incidents are many. As a parent, the main worry for me is with keeping children entertained for the duration of a journey…to ensure as little distraction for the driver as possible.DistractionsThese have been around since adults started strapping their kids in the back of cars and taking them out. Old they may be but proven to help with long journeys, they certainly are.
A) Toys and activity centres- Toy steering wheels and dashboards, kick mats with inbuilt toys and activity centres. There are so many of these available, your little one will be spoiled for choice.B) Childrens CD’s and audio downloads-Ideal for sing-a-longs on long journeys. From the nursery rhyme classics to more contemporary tunes, the selection is incredible, and that’s before you go down the route of audio books. Just try not to get too hooked listening to the story yourself whilst driving!
C) Car Games-True classics. These can include eye-spy, Red car/Yellow car, the number plate game or even some that may be unique to you and your family. Long trips can become very pleasant, and favourites memories of holiday thanks to fun interaction between parent and child
These are just some suggestions and will not work for all age groups however many can be adapted for most age ranges and should help you to have one less thing to be distracted by whilst you and your family are on the roads!
