Road safety campaigner slams “irresponsible” motoring shows
22 October 2018
BigChange, the mobile workforce technology company, today published new research revealing that almost half (40 percent) of UK motorists believe Top Gear and The Grand Tour motoring shows promote faster and more dangerous driving.
Martin Port, the technology entrepreneur and founder of BigChange, which recently launched the Leaders for Life road safety campaign to reduce the number of people killed and injured on UK roads by people driving for work, branded the motoring shows “irresponsible” and called on their producers to do more to encourage safer driving.
In a study of 1,000 UK motorists, which was conducted by the research consultancy Opinium, BigChange discovered that:
- Men were more likely to condemn Top Gear and The Grand Tour. 42 percent of male drivers felt these shows promoted faster and more dangerous driving, compared to 35 percent of women.
- 47 percent of motorists aged over 55 disapproved of the example set by these motoring shows (compared to 37 percent of 18-34 year olds)
- One in three (32 percent) road users admit to exceeding the speed limit every week, while nine percent – more than 3 million motorists nationwide – say they race around every day.
Martin Port, founder and CEO of BigChange, comments:
“Top Gear and The Grand Tour are entertaining, but they are also highly irresponsible. They focus on big, powerful cars, promote a ‘lad culture’ at the wheel and glamorize driving at speed. With five people being killed on the UK’s roads on a daily basis and millions of drivers driving too fast each and every day, these popular and influential shows could and should do more to encourage safer driving behaviours.”
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