Does it make you happy sitting at
the traffic lights watching a guy in a Volkswagen Passat, who is unavoidably in
your eye line, going to great lengths clearing out the contents of his nose
with his finger?! Me neither! With today being National Happiness Day I took
some time to think about how driving can make me happy… or in deed quite the
opposite!
Many of my team at the Manchester
office, myself included, have a peak hour commute that can feel like a working day before getting
into the office, such is their commitment to the cause! In fact many of us are
increasingly having to suffer these journeys. TomTom released the 6th
edition of its Traffic Index in November 2013 which showed that on average
British commuters are spending 9 working days per year stuck in traffic.
It is unsurprising then that we
are receiving a number of enquiries on a daily basis relating to incidents
where inconsiderate driving or even in some situations dangerous driving has
been alleged. A number of people are looking to defend or to plead guilty and
mitigate for a moment of madness caused by the build-up of stress on the roads.
The impact of the build-up of
stress and anxiety on the roads is such that a concept is being developed by
researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology to embed facial
recognition into steering wheels. This is aimed to detect angry or upset
drivers! Amongst its other features is to measure the percentage of eyelid
closure for drivers to detect driver fatigue.
This is clearly a sign that
driving and the stresses associated with it is becoming more and more relevant
in everyday lives. Everything we do on the roads now is scrutinised to the
extent that the man picking his nose could be cited by the police officer
driving in the lane next to him for not being in proper control of his vehicle
(an offence that carries 3 penalty points and a £100 fine). Just as easily, an incident of road rage
stemming from a frustrating morning of stop/start traffic on the M62 could lead
to being reported for dangerous driving if you undertake a particularly
frustrating ‘fast’ lane driver.
A study carried out by Three
Barrels Brandy in 2011 found that out of the top 50 things that make us happy only three of them related to driving:
- At number 46 was the unexpected joy of being given an unexpired car parking ticket by someone leaving the car park on your arrival.
- Slightly higher was the feeling of passing your driving test which was placed at number 42.
- As high as number 12 was the feeling of letting go when you drive with your window down on a sunny day.
The thought of driving in modern
Britain is more likely to fill people with dread and anxiety rather than
thinking of the stress releasing feeling of driving on the open road, with your
window down on a sunny day with your favourite Oasis songs blurring from your
stereo. Even then you have to be aware not to get too enthusiastic to the
extent that you inadvertently go over the speed limit and get caught by a speed
camera you were unaware of or a mobile unit you didn’t see until the last
minute!
We at Geoffrey Miller Solicitors
specialise in all matters relating to driving offences and are here to make
sure that your driving experience, happy or not, can continue by helping to
keep hundreds of motorists on the road each year and making sure that the
demands of modern life can be met and ultimately keeping you happy!
Sources:
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