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Related Tags: Snow, Breakdown Recovery, Motorists, Ice, Driver Behaviour, Skipping lights, Traffic, Gridlocked roads, Road Rage
Snow Sunday leads to icy Monday as survey reveals motorists spend 99 days of life stuck on gridlocked roads
ICE resulting from compacted snow that fell on Saturday and Sunday is causing havoc for motorists and pedestrians, but today a survey revealed British driving habits are leading to more accidents in extreme weather conditions.We will get stuck in traffic 10,000 times and spend 99 days of our life on gridlocked roads - enough time to boil, pour and drink 12,000 cups of tea and watch every episode of Top Gear ever made 16 times over.
Breakdown recovery firms were working overtime in Kent yesterday while several independent operators were snowed in. According to a survey commissioned by skobbler, each of the 2,000 drivers analysed suggest Britons will get lost 371 times, swear on 323 occasions and hoot a horn at 62 cyclists - a shocking revelation on road rage in the UK.
"There is no excuse for behaviour such as jumping red lights, tailgating fellow motorists or cutting people up," said Marcus Thielking, Co-founder of skobbler.
"Being a motorist involves a lot more than just driving and whilst we all try to be sensible drivers it would seem we are all guilty of a few misdemeanours."
Such misdemeanours are said to include accumulating 62 parking tickets and jumping 87 red lights, according to the study - something many motorists would dispute as offensive and exaggerated, averaging one ticket received and one red light skipped every year.
The research also suggests British motorists will break down on at least two occasions in their lifetime - highlighting the need to be protected by adequate cover on the road.
But there is no end in sight for the big freeze, with the rest of the week expected to see sub-zero temperatures, significant disruption and even more snow across the country, including London and the South East - with Kent and Essex expected to be heavily hit by a thick blanket of snow again according to MeteoGroup forecaster Sally Webb. "It is going to remain cold for at least the next week," she said. "We expect it to remain cold and there to be snow or sleet for the next week in most areas."
Darron Burness, the AA's head of special operations, said: "With the snow compacting down and turning icy, we're likely to see treacherous driving conditions throughout the weekend.
"Any fresh snow on top will just add to the problems."
Ms Webb concluded: "It will also be icy everywhere, especially with the snow melt, and temperatures are going to be no more than 1C, dropping below zero overnight."
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