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Confused.com Reveals Cost Of Back Seat Driver Distractions

Confused.com has revealed the true cost of giving friends and families a ride home. Two thirds (66%) of British motorists have been victims of unwanted attention from self-appointed back seat drivers, and almost 1 in 4 (24%) have been in an accident whilst dealing with the distractions of other passengers. These distractions mean that 20% of British motorists will have to fork out up to £500 to repair accidental damages ’caused’ by back seat drivers in their driving life.

The research from the car insurance experts also reveals that the worst backseat pests are bus drivers, train drivers and delivery men who obviously forget that they’re off duty. On the other hand, teachers are the most patient of passengers and put up with the driver’s bad habits.

When it comes to family life, most respondents confess that they would rather journey with colleagues than loved ones. This is because partners are the worst backseat drivers, with husbands and boyfriends disrupting the driver most often and 45% of them voicing their traffic-tips several times during the shortest of journeys.

Particularly bad at knowing when to keep quiet are parents who feature second on the list of frequent offenders (28%) when it comes to interfering from the back seat.

The most popular backseat gestures include the terrified grip-tightening on the door handle; the not-so-subtle glance at the speedometer or, the favourite of partners and parents across the country, the imaginary brake pedal push.

When it comes to the world of motoring, Confused.com revealed that unfortunately, stereotypes are surviving, with women and the elderly being the most likely to suffer from backseat bad manners. Over two thirds of women (68%), and a shocking 70% of drivers over the age of 55 find themselves on the receiving end of this bad etiquette. Especially patronising are comments about the speed of the car (24%) or their proximity to other cars (25%).

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “As motoring costs continue to rise at a meteoric rate, it’s never been more important for drivers to keep their costs as low as possible. Our research shows that having other people in the car can distract us from the road, and lead to accidents which in turn increase the cost of our car insurance policies.”

Jo Bryant, spokesperson for etiquette experts Debretts added: “If you’re a passenger in someone else’s car, your behaviour must be polite at all times, just as it would be if you were visiting their home. The Etiquette Guide for Back Seat drivers will ensure that every journey is courteous and civilised.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Launches New Social Media Campaign

Confused.com is challenging the British public to show everyone what they can do in 5 seconds, coinciding with the launch of Confused.com QuickQuote.

This latest social media campaign forms part of Confused.com’s ongoing marketing strategy for QuickQuote, a new text message service which can return a motor car insurance quote in seconds. The campaign reinforces the importance of having a car insurance policy and how this can be achieved in seconds by using QuickQuote.

For the ‘5 Second Challenge’ Confused.com is asking people to upload videos of themselves to YouTube and show us what talent they can perform in just 5 seconds, with the winner receiving a prize of £500. The social media campaign demonstrates the concept of time and what can be achieved in 5 seconds, a creative twist on the fact that the new ground breaking Confused.com QuickQuote service allows customers
to get a car insurance quote in seconds.

The social media competition started at 9am, Wednesday 16 May and finishes 9am, Wednesday 23 May and will be supported through the use of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. To enter the competition, the British public simply have to upload their 5 second talent videos to YouTube by 9am, Wednesday 23 May 2012 and either email the URL to 5secondchallenge@confused.com or tweet @Confused.com with their URL and the hashtag #5secondchallenge to be entered. Some examples of talent at Confused.com can be found at http://bit.ly/confusedtalent

The videos will then be entered into Confused.com’s YouTube slam, which will be found at http://bit.ly/5secondchallenge from 12pm Wednesday 23 May.

The Confused.com YouTube slam will begin at 12pm, Wednesday 23 May and will finish 12pm, Monday 28 May 2012.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com, commented: “We are encouraging people to vote for their favourite video in our 5 second challenge on YouTube slam. To see the video of their choice rise up through the leader board, viewers simply need to vote for their favourites. We are hoping to find out what else the British public can do. By simply entering, someone could win £500 just by performing for 5 seconds. Who knows, fame could come early for someone.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals That First-Time Drivers Prefer Smaller Cars

Confused.com has announced that, according to its recent survey, first-time buyers are becoming more savvy to the cost of cars; looking at the full cost of motoring rather than just the cost of buying a car.

Cars are one of the biggest expenses that people make in their life time, with 76% of respondents to the Confused.com survey stating this. However, people are having to compromise on the cars they drive. Big engines and car modifications no longer the new driver’s prerogative, due to the cost of insurance and overall rising cost of motoring.

According to Confused.com’s research, motor car insurance is viewed as a ‘huge expense’ by 66% of people. This is because the cost of an average comprehensive policy is £1,869 for women aged 17-20 compared with £3,635 for men.

Confused.com’s research showed almost 70% of people chose their first car with an engine size of 1.3 litres or less, with 15% of under 24s citing insurance cost as the main reason for choosing a care with a smaller engine.

To keep costs down, new drivers are opting for the Ford Fiesta, which was voted the most popular first car, followed by the Mini One, in the poll of 2,000 drivers (selected from a list of 52 different makes and models).

For a 17-year-old male to insure a Ford Fiesta Encore 1.3 litre engine, the insurance premium would cost on average £5,372.96. This compares with the cost for a first-time buyer purchasing a Volkswagen Golf GTI 2 litre engine, which would cost£12,144.75 for insurance cover. This is more than double the cost of insurance for a Ford Fiesta, the first-time buyers’ car of choice.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Car insurance is a huge purchase for young drivers. However, our research tells us that these drivers are adapting to pressures and opting for smaller, cheaper cars, in order to minimise their insurance premiums.

“Buying your first car is a really exciting purchase. For the first-time buyer, cost is an important factor with 50% saying that price affects their purchase, and 35% of first-time buyers paying £500 or less for their first car.”

To help young drivers, Confused.com advises them to first decide how much they can afford to pay for their first car; not just the sum to buy the car itself but also the running costs – insurance, MOT, vehicle excise duty, petrol, repairs and servicing. Confused.com encourages first-time car buyers to shop around on a price comparison site and add an experienced named driver onto their insurance.

Via EPR Network
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