Strathclyde Tyres Blog

What do motorists get up to in the car when alone behind the wheel?  One third of drivers sing in the car, while 23% just get lost in their thoughts, according to a recent AA/Populus poll.

Singing in the car seems to be a trend amongst the young which declines with age, as 60% of 18-to-24-year-olds sing in the car compared to just 13% of over 65s. There are more car singers in Scotland and the East Midlands than any other part of the country.

The Range Rover Evoque has won the Women's World Car of the Year 2012. The award, which is only three years old, is granted by a jury panel of women motoring writers from 12 countries.

According to Chief Judge, Sandy Myhre from New Zealand, speaking in 2010, the awards were created “simply because we felt there was a need for the collective voice of women to be heard since the majority of cars of the year or the favourite cars of motoring magazines or newspapers are chosen by men.”

Over 80% of UK motorists admit to being misled by their Sat Navs, with misleading directions causing over £203 million in car damage in the past year, according to new research from Confused.com.

The price comparison service reveals that a staggering 83% of British drivers have admitted to being misled by their Sat Navs, resulting in over half the country (52%) screaming at their devices. Sixty-eight percent of the drivers end up doing longer journeys and clock up unnecessary miles as a result.

The cost of car insurance for young men continues to go through the roof and 17-20 year olds are paying almost double what women drivers of the same age are paying, experts at Confused.com have revealed.

New statistics from the comparison site provider show that female drivers pay £1,771 LESS than the men UK-wide: it currently costs an average of £1,959 for women aged 17-20 to insure a car compared to £3,730 for men. These are the findings of the Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index (Q4 2011), which is based on more than 4 million quotes.

Women are actually better at parking than men, according to a new study carried out by NCP.

The NCP Parking Report assessed various aspects of parking, including speed, technique and accuracy, and established that out of a maximum score of 20, women drivers on average have a score of 13.4, while male drivers score on average only 12.3.

A pair of studies by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm have identified factors that may lead teens to drive with multiple peer passengers and, then, how those passengers may affect their driver's behaviour just before a serious crash.

The US studies have been published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Women-Drivers.com has released its 2011 report showing the top US car brands as rated by women.

The US company tracks thousands of consumer reviews each year, checking women’s purchasing and browsing experiences at new car dealerships. The figures are revealing as, while women now account for over half of all car purchases, they influence and initiate up to 80% of them, says the firm.

New research reveals that 43% of ‘designated’ drivers do not believe that the alcohol contained in popular Christmas puddings counts towards their drink-drive limit and almost three quarters (72%) do not ask their host about the alcohol content.

The study, by esure car insurance, found that an average serving of Christmas pudding contains almost half a unit of alcohol, while many popular seasonal favourites contain up to 0.88 per serving.

Sixty-two percent of young male novice drivers think they are more skilful than the average driver, according to the Institute of Advanced Motoring’s latest report, 'The fast and the curious: young people’s attitudes to driver training'. Only 32% of young women drivers say the same.

Young novice drivers are the highest risk group on our roads, and male drivers between 17-29 are more than twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured as young female drivers, says the road safety charity. Thirty percent of car occupant fatalities are drivers aged 17-24, or passengers of a driver aged 17-24, yet this age group makes up only eight percent of all driving licence holders.

Drivers in Scotland are more likely to have bought winter tyres this year than drivers elsewhere in the UK. According to new AA Populus Poll figures, 11% of drivers in Scotland have purchased winter tyres, with eight percent of North East drivers following suit.

The study, which polled 18,183 AA members, found that overall four percent of drivers have bought winter tyres, up from three percent of drivers last year.

A study of Indiana drivers shows heightened risk of serious injury and death for men 45 and older driving on snow and ice, women driving on rain-slick highways, and younger men driving on dry roadways.

The study, by researchers at Purdue University, Indiana, reveals that men younger than 45 showed a 21% higher likelihood of severe injury while driving on dry roads than on wet roads, and a 72% higher likelihood of severe injury on a dry road than on snowy and icy roads.

Over half (53%) of women admit that having their partner in the car adversely affects their driving, making them feel stressed and nervous, according to new research.

Men are less likely to be affected by having their partner in the car (41%), with one in 10 saying they drive more carefully when their partner is in the car with them, according to the survey, which was carried out for insurer Aviva.

Men are more likely to travel by car than women, according to new statistics published by Transport Scotland. Women are more likely to walk or be a car or bus passenger than their male counterparts.

The statistics reflect information collected by the Scottish Household Survey in 2009/2010, about travel in a random sample of adults (16+) living in private households across Scotland.

Women are taking over from men in making the big decisions about buying a car, according to Female First.

Reporting on a survey by BMW Financial Services, the magazine reveals that only 20% of women take their partner's opinion into account when buying a car, while 71% buy only to please themselves.