Insurance statistics from the UK have shown that drivers are distracted by roadside art to the point that 12 per cent of all motorists have had an accident or a near miss because they were too busy rubber necking.

With that in mind car insurance firm esure set about surveying 1,000 of its customers and found that 66 per cent of all drivers surveyed admitted to taking their eyes off the road to glance at roadside art, popular tourist attractions, a nice view (interpret that one how you will) or an accident on the other side of the road.

Further more, 28 per cent of the drivers surveyed admitting to braking suddenly when they passed something they had wanted to see while 52 per cent said they had slowed significantly when passing a point of interest to get a better look.

Interestingly 47 per cent of those polled said landmarks should not be visible from the road while the exact same percentage (not to be confused with the exact same people) said speed limits should be slowed near points of interest.

“Spotting famous landmarks has long been a fun part of road trips, but this can also lead drivers to distraction as they take their eyes away from the road, slow down or brake suddenly,” said head of risk and underwriting at esure insurance Mike Pickard. “Motorists should keep their eyes on the road at all times – taking them off the road ahead even for a split second, could be dangerous.  If motorists want to look at a landmark or take a quick photo, they should either pull into a lay-by when it is safe to do so or wait until they are not the ones in the driving seat.”

73 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of having a roadside parking bay built to view the related attraction while 35 per cent admitted they probably wouldn’t use one even if it did exist.

Female motorists were also more likely to be distracted by roadside attractions with 68 per cent saying they’d take their eyes off the road as compared to 63 per cent of males.