subject: Driving - Hazardous For Health? [print this page] Driving - Hazardous For Health? Driving - Hazardous For Health?
Ok, so this is a bit of an epic statement, but it immediately conjures up thoughts of reckless drivers and speeding vehicles. But according to a recent study by Canadian scientists, driving actually decreased your life expectancy be 20 mins per hour that you spend behind the wheel. This is due to the risk fo crashing while cruising the roads, and the study went on to say that if the average driver reduced their speed by just two miles an hour, the life expectancy would be increased by three hours a year.
"When drivers speed to get to their destination faster, they actually lose more time because the savings from faster travel are offset by the increased prospect of a crash," says Dr. Donald Redelmeier, the lead investigator in the study.
It goes with the old saying that you are more likely to have a car accident within a two and a half mile radius of your home, so suggests that we take extra care and precaution near where we live, as this is where we are more comfortable.
The study suggests that however small the change you make is, it can still have a massive impact on your driving, and that of others around you. If you bear in mind that you come into contact with over one hundred road users on an average car trip, and if all these people implemented the changes, then we would all be helping to raise our life expectancies.
Make sure you have comprehensive Car Insurance in the case of an accident.
