CMT warns of Christmas driver distraction

While the Christmas and New Year holidays bring the chance for relaxation and celebration, it is also a dangerous time to be on the roads, according to new research.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) has analysed the behaviour of drivers in the UK last year - with 23 million trips over the Christmas period - and found distracted driving and speeding to be well above normal levels in the festive season.

It looked at hour-by-hour distraction and speeding trends on Christmas and New Year’s Day in 2024, comparing it with similar days around the holidays in December and January.

The company defines screen interaction distraction as tapping on the phone screen while driving over 9 mph, and speeding as traveling 9.3 mph over the speed limit for at least 100m - the length of a football field.

On Christmas Day, distraction jumps 40% overall, with a sharp rise beginning just after midnight.

Christmas morning is especially dangerous, CMT says: at 8am, distraction is 82% higher than normal.

On New Year’s Day, distraction rises 39% overall, with the early hours after midnight seeing heavy traffic and a major spike in risky driving.

Hard braking - an indicator of hazards on the road - rises 65%.

By 8am on the day, speeding is nearly five times higher than normal and remains elevated through the afternoon.