Driving directions biggest cause of in-car arguments – Enterprise survey
This bank holiday weekend, couples around Ireland will load up the car and head away for a mini-break, hoping for a blissful long weekend of relaxation. As the miles start to flow, however, the cracks may start to show! A survey carried out by Enterprise Rent-A-Car has found that when it comes to our driving habits, we don’t always see eye to eye with our other halves and a long road trip can crank up the tension for even the most loved-up couple.
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car survey found that most common cause of friction (57%) is the thorny issue of which direction to take – 61% of females and 39% of males say they are most likely to argue about whether they are going the right way. But would they stop and ask for directions? 84% of those say yes they would. Other causes of conflict include:
· Choice of radio channel – 28%
· Eating/ leaving mess/rubbish in the car – 21%
· Having to stop on a number of occasions – 11%
· The ‘kids’ – 5%
So, what gets our goat when our partner is on driving duty? 35% of survey respondents said that driving too slowly was their partner’s most annoying habit, with mostly males (65%) wishing their other halves would speed up a bit. On the other hand, a quarter of those surveyed said that driving too fast was their partner’s worst habit where the majority of these respondents were females (89%). Tailgating was next on the list (18%) and the majority of female respondents (67%) said this was their partner’s most annoying habit, suggesting that most women would love their partners to ease off on the accelerator. Other annoying habits unveiled in the Enterprise Rent-A-Car survey include:
· Bad at parking – 23%
· Never cleaning the car – 21%
· Partner constantly checking their mobile phone – 16%
· Listening to terrible music – 8%
With a delightful extra day to play with, how are couples planning to spend the long weekend? Most (56%) are planning to visit friends or family while 30% are heading off for a romantic break. 13% say their weekend will be geared towards fun activities for the kids, while a few hardy souls (8%) are planning an adventure break. As for where people are heading, the clear favourite is Kerry with 15% of respondents planning to visit the Kingdom this weekend while Galway, Wicklow, Dublin and Meath also feature prominently.
Commenting on the survey results, George O’Connor, Managing Director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ireland, said that couples should remember why they are going away in the first place. “Relax, be tolerant of your partners driving habits, including route planning and remind yourself that you have a fantastic weekend to look forward to. One aspect of the survey is telling, and that’s the fact that many people, are concerned that their partner drives too fast,” Mr O’Connor said. “This is borne out by statistics elsewhere and it’s a major concern – we advise all drivers to leave plenty of time for the trip ahead, plan your route in advance, take regular breaks, especially when driving long distances, and above all drive safely and patiently at all times.”
