Brits spend more time driving than socialising with friends, family

LONDON - Britons have become so dependent on their cars that most spend more than one working day (10 hours) every week driving.

This compares to just 3.7 hours spent walking, 2.7 hours showering and 4.6 hours socialising with friends and family.

Despite rising petrol prices, the average motorist now clocks up a record 7,413 miles per year, shows a new research.

As the need for social, shopping and commuting mobility has increased, motorists now spend nearly two more days driving every year than they did ten years ago.

Men spend 533 hours behind the wheel each year, while women spend 506 hours driving each year.

Men are also more likely to undertake longer, one-off drives-spending 21 hours a year driving on weekend trips and 29 hours behind the wheel on business.

The top journey for women on the other hand is the daily drive to work (122 hours a year), followed by shopping trips (91 hours) and visiting friends and family (96 hours).

“It is clear from our research that motorists are spending more time behind the wheel squeezing out ‘real time’ with family and friends,” the Telegraph quoted Jacky Brown at Sheilas’ Wheels car insurance, who commissioned the study, as saying.

“Driving is an integral part of our everyday lives, but it’s also a time when people are uniquely vulnerable. Time behind the wheel needs to be spent concentrating on the road ahead rather than thinking about what you’re missing,” added Brown. (ANI)