Perving on pedestrians proves precarious: study

UK media reports say figures from a Direct Line Insurance study show an average of 2525 crashes occur every day - equivalent to 921,840 per year - on English streets because of motorists not paying attention when behind the wheel.

It was found that more drivers crashed into lampposts or shunted other vehicles during summer, when men and women are more often wearing less clothing.

According to a study of 2142 drivers, 60 per cent of men admitted to being distracted by attractive women while 12 per cent of women confessed to gawking at good looking men.

It's not just the physical that presents a problem, either. Twenty-one per cent of drivers said they shifted their focus away from the road to check out the talent on advertising billboards.

Study spokesman Matt Owen said, "Stealing a quick look at an attractive pedestrian or billboard model may well be a bit of fun but, on a serious note, drivers shouldn't underestimate that this type of distraction is a major contributing factor in road accidents.

"The number of crashes caused in this way have not changed year on year so drivers obviously are not learning to keep their eyes on the road."

Considering the high rate of attractive people in Australia, this is surely a significant concern for local motorists.

Have you ever binned a car because of ogling an attractive pedestrian?